Mindless
by emilyherself
Summary: Auror Anna Greenwood is in accident that leaves her trapped in the Janus Thickey Mental Ward of St. Mungo's Hospital without her memory. Who else is in the Janus Thickey Ward? Harry Potter. A story of love and identity.
1. Chapter 1

I'm in a long hallway. The walls are wood panel, and the floor squeaks as my feet pass over it. It's familiar, but I can't place it.

I can feel myself panicking. The panic grows within me. I don't know where I am. I'm not in control of my body. I just want to get out of here.

I wake up, and I am breathing hard.

There are bright lights all around me. That's what it's like in the hospital. My legs are surrounded on both sides by stiff sheets. I am wrapped in a cotton gown, but it still scratches my legs.

As I become more alert, I remember a little more.

~.~

I have been awake now for two days. Before that, I was in an accident. No one here will give me any details.

I sat up, and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. The lights became less shocking after a few minutes. I took the notebook off my bedside table.

It has handwriting in it that I remember. I recognized it as my own. I wrote it all yesterday, when they gave me a few, precious details about myself.

My name is Anna Greenwood.

I am twenty three years old.

I wrote them down so I could remember them.

"Anna," I said, to test it out. My voice, however, protests. It is dry, and it comes out crackly.

"Good morning, dearie!" my mediwitch, Miriam, entered the door to my room.

"Good morning," I rasped out. She set down a tray of food and handed me the glass of juice. I took a large sip. It's very sweet, but when I am done, I can talk again.

I stared at Miriam, trying to take her in. She looked like a mother, but I don't know if she looked like my mother. I don't know what my mother looked like really. She was short, shorter than me I think. Her red hair came down to her chin that is streaked with some grays.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked.

"I think so," I answer, and my voice is smoother. I remember my dream about the hallway, but didn't mention it.

"Good," she said. She was very cheery. "How are you feeling?"

I had been so preoccupied with thinking that I hadn't noticed the ache that was coming from my knee. It was a deep pain. 

"My knee hurts," I say to her . I also realized that I was hungry. I wondered what time it was.

She handed me a bottle, it was small and green. It tasted faintly of mint and helped my knee. "What time is it?" I asked.

"Nine in the morning," she said. "And it's December eighth."

That meant that outside, there was probably snow. Somehow, the idea of snow made me happy. I nodded.

"Thank you. Do you have any other gowns?" I asked. "This one is kind of scratchy."

"Oh, right," she said. "Someone brought me some things for you. I will be right back."

She left, and I started chewing on a piece of toast Miriam had brought. It was warm and hitting the spot. Miriam returned with a bag, and placed it on my bed. I would go through it after I ate.

"Do you think you're ready to meet a person that knows you?" she asked.

I thought about it. Last night, they had told me who I was. And that I had lost all of my memories in an "accident". I wondered what kind of life I had. I was curious.

"Okay," I said.

She smiled. "Good." she said. "One person at a time. We don't want to overwhelm you."

I nodded. "Okay." I said.

"So, why don't you eat your breakfast and check out what is in the bag. The Healer will be around in about an hour."

As she left, I started to eat my food. Slowly, chewing each bite.

The food wasn't very exciting. It was scrambled eggs, toast and orange juice. It was kind of bland. But I felt much better when I was full.

I picked up the bag. I was interested in what was in there. I opened it.

On top were three nightgowns and robes. Three different colored sets; a rich cranberry, a deep blue, and a white one. They were all made from a very soft silk, which glided along my fingers as I touched them.

Underneath those were some bras and underwear. I was able to turn and put them on, but I wasn't able to stand up. My knee was numb. The bras fit perfectly, like they were made for me. I took the time to examine my body.

A few stretch marks dotted my stomach, but I was pretty toned. I had strong stomach muscles. But I was cold, so I put on theblue nightgown and robe. They made me feel much nicer than the rough, cotton ones.

I picked up the bag. I had a brush in there, and a mirror. I picked up the mirror, and set it so I could see myself.

I hadn't thought about my appearance before. I was a little surprised that I was... well, pretty. I had curly, blonde hair. It went past my shoulders, but I could tell it was a gnarly mess. I wasn't very fond of it.

My complexion was clear and smooth, but a little greasy. Probably because I hadn't washed my face yet that morning. I had blue eyes, and long lashes. I tried to pull the brush through my hair, but there were too many knots. I did my best, but got frustrated.

So I sat back and waited for the Healer.

It was really frustrating, to know how to be a person without know who I was. I wanted to know who I was, besides Anna Greenwood, the twenty three year old. There was so much to know.

What did I do? Where did I live? Did I have a boyfriend? Maybe even a husband? Where was he? Why wasn't he here with me? What exactly was the accident that had left me in this incredibly frustrating state?

Questioning myself only served to frustrate me more. I was pretty worked up by the time the Healer got there.

Healer Davis was a nice man, probably around thirty five or forty. "How are you today, Anna?" he asked, coming in.

"I've been better," I admitted, shrugging at him. [C]

"I'm sure you have," he said. "How's that knee feeling?"

I took a deep breath. "That potion really helped," I told him. "But I can't put any weight on it."

"No, that potion was numbing. Tomorrow we will see if you can handle a less intense pain potion and maybe put a little weight," he said. "How do you feel, physically, other than that?"

"I'm all right," I shrugged. "I feel like I've been in bed for awhile. I'm beginning to get sore."

He nodded. "Yeah, tomorrow will be a week since the accident," he said."So you have been in bed a lot. Like I said, we will try and get you up tomorrow."

"And... what are we going to do about my mind?" I asked. "I am going to get my memory back, right?"

"Yes," he said. "Your head wasn't terribly damaged. It's just a question of exactly when you will get it back. There is no way to predict that. It could be tomorrow, it could be next month. The only thing we can do is to slowly introduce things from your life back to you. Today, you will have a visitor, yes?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"And then, depending on how you are feeling later in the week, oh, it's Tuesday, by the way, maybe you can take a short trip to your home."

I wondered where I lived. Was it a small apartment? I was only twenty three, probably not enough time to save up for anything nice. Did I live alone? Maybe I lived with a few friends.

"How did I... get like this?" I asked.

He sighed. "Maybe your visitor will be able to tell you later," he said. "They should be here around three o'clock."

"Thank you," I said.

I waited. It was already about noon time, but I was growing bored out of my mind. I had nothing to do, and it didn't look like they were going to give me access to a newspaper or anything to occupy my time.

Miriam returned around three, when they said my visitor would be there. "Would you like a cup of coffee or tea?" she asked.

I shook my head. "I don't think I like coffee," I told her.

"Hot chocolate?" she asked.

"That sounds nice." I told her. She returned about five minutes later with a steaming mug. "Is my visitor still coming?"

"Yes," she said. "Just running a little late." I nodded.

"I've had no visitors," I observed. "Am I not well liked?"

"Oh no," she chuckled. "The first few days you were in here, many people wanted to come visit you. We had to turn them around."

"Oh." That made me feel better. "Why didn't you let them come?"

"Well, the first few days, you were very ill." she told me. "Very, very ill. So no visitors were allowed. And when you finally woke up and we discovered you have no memory, we don't want to overwhelm you. You are slowly making progress, even already. Yesterday when you woke up you just stared off into space. But now, you are sitting up. You are dressed. You are having a conversation. Those are all signs of progress. If you are able to tolerate the visits, we will probably let two or three people in within the next week."

"Alright," I nodded. I brought my hand up and scratched my hair. "Do you think I can cut my hair?"

"We will discuss it later."

She looked outside. "I believe your visitor is here," she said, smiling. The door that I couldn't see opened, and a man walked in.

He was tall. That was the first thing I noticed about him. He was tall and sturdy, but in no way fat. Just muscular. He was older than me, definitely. He had darker hair, and was very attractive.

He wore a long, black, woolen coat. It had been half opened it, and underneath were very nice clothing. His suit looked custom made. It was all very exquisite.

"Anna," he said, rushing to my bedside. "How are you, love?"

I observed him even more. Up close, he was even more beautiful. His face had no stubble. He had brilliant hazel eyes, and smelled very nice. It was very familiar, and I got lost in that for a moment.

"Anna?"

"Sorry," I apologized for my lapse. "It's just all..." I moved my hands without saying anything, hoping he would understand.

He nodded, and sat back from my bedside in a chair.

"Anna," Miriam began. "This is your fiancé, Christopher."

I had a fiancé. That was a pleasing thought.

"Fiancé," I repeated.

He nodded. "Yes," he said. "For two years now."

Wow. Two years was a long engagement.

"I see," I said. I looked down to my hand, no ring.

He chuckled. "I've got your ring right here, in my pocket," he said, and dug for it.

"I'll give you two a few minutes while I get the Healer. Don't give away too much, Christopher." she warned.

He nodded. He presented me with the ring. It was pretty sizeable, actually, and felt heavy as he slipped it onto my hand. "Much better." he said. "Your hand looks naked without it."

I just stared at it. Then, I remembered my notebook, and picked it up so I could write more as he began to talk. "I'm sorry I was late, I was stuck in a meeting. You hate when I'm late, but it's a very rare thing."

My hand moved over the paper. Engaged to Christopher.

"What's that?" he asked. He read it. "Oh. You're... describing yourself?"

"So I don't forget anything," I explained. I was picking at a thread in the blanket.

"There's so much more about you, love," he said. "You really don't remember anything?"

I shook my head. "Certain things feel familiar," I explained. "Like your cologne."

"You picked it out." he said, rubbing his thumb over the back of my hand.

"That motion does to," I explained. "What do you do for work?"

"I'm a politician," he said. "I'm the Adviser to the Minister."

"Oh," I said. That was an impressive job, I thought. I could tell by the way that he puffed out his chest, he was proud of it too.

He nodded. "And you're an Auror," he added.

I was an Auror? That was a little hard to picture. I couldn't really see myself as the type of person who would be chasing the bad guys. But that did certainly explain why I was toned.

"Wow," I said.

"Not what you were expecting?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No, not really."

"I brought pictures of us." he said. "Maybe they will jog your memory."

"Thank you," I said.

Healer Davis returned, and shook Christopher's hand. I couldn't tell about him.

I didn't dislike him. He seemed nice enough. But I didn't yet identify in myself what made my real self fall in love with him.

"When can I get her home?" he asked.

"Oh," Healer Davis said concerned. "I'm afraid she won't be able to be home until her memory is back."

Christopher's face became harsher.

"What do you mean?" he questioned.

"She is in a very fragile mental state. While it may appear that she could handle living at home and returning to her previous duties; that would probably just cause damage. She would degenerate. It would not be beneficial for anyone involved. After she is in a better physical state, I am not very opposed to short visits home, but until her memory fully returns, she will be spending her time here."

He sighed. "What if I hired a mediwitch to come take care of her?"

Healer Davis shook his head. "I'm sorry, but no."

Christopher nodded. "All right." he said.

"She will return, I promise. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you exactly when." I didn't like that they were talking about me when I was right there. But I let them continue on.

"There is something this weekend that I want her to attend."

"We can discuss it after." Healer Davis said. "She's in good hands here. We are working to heal her knee and then we will work on helping her muscles regain their strength and by then, hopefully, her memory will return and she will be able to go home."

Christopher just nodded. He was obviously annoyed.

"Any questions?"

We both shook our heads.

"All right. Thank you, then," Healer Davis left the room.

"I just want to have you back," Christopher sighed.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly.

He just nodded, and stared at the floor. He definitely wasn't winning any points like this.

"What do you want me to do this weekend?" I asked.

"There's a small party," he explained. "It would mean a lot to me if you would go."

I nodded. He kissed my cheek and bid me goodbye.

I was left to sit and think. It was going to be a long time until I got my memory back.


	2. Chapter 2

I was exhausted after meeting Christopher, so I ate dinner and went to bed early. I spent most of the next morning going through the pictures that Christopher had left with me.

I was a socialite, essentially. From the pictures I saw, I spent a lot of time in beautiful gowns. Exquisite, well fitting gowns in beautiful dark shades.

Christopher was older. I read his biography in a newspaper he had given me. He was thirty-two. He had begun his career with the Ministry in the Department of International Magical Relations. He had quickly worked his way up that and was Head of it by the time he was twenty-six. By the time he was twenty eight, he was working his way up the ranks in the administrative government.

It was predicted that he would succeed Kingsley Shacklebolt as Minister of Magic by the time he was forty.

It was kind of strange, to think of myself as the future First Lady of Magic. I didn't feel like I was that important. But it certainly explained the beautiful gowns and makeup, I thought with a smile.

I also found our wedding announcement in the Daily Prophet. We had gotten engaged two Christmases ago at a party Christopher had thrown at his estate.

The article didn't mention my parents, so I asked Miriam about them the next morning.

"Oh, well," she began. "Your mum passed away about four years ago, I'm afraid. And your dad's retired. He used to be an Auror, like you. A pretty prominent Auror, at that! I believe he lives up in Scotland now."

"Do I have any brothers or sisters?" I asked.

"Nope, just you," she said.

I felt a little sad that I didn't have a mum around, and wondered if my Dad would be my next visitor. I hoped he would be. After all, he was probably in my earliest memories. Maybe a visit from him would dig something up.

"Can I put on real clothing today?" I asked.

"We should test your strength on your knee first," she said. "You'll be able to move better without clothing surrounding it."

Healer Davis came in and determined I was able to stand and walk around the room. It wasn't easy or painless, but I was able to do it. He permitted me the luxury of walking myself to the bathroom in my room, as long as I used a cane.

I was able to get dressed with Miriam's help.

"Christopher had a bag of clothing sent over for you," Miriam said, dropping in on my bag. "And Healer Davis is looking into getting a Pensieve. There's been success in exposing amnesia patients to memories."

That was a little exciting, I thought. Looking through the bag of clothing, I picked out a gray tracksuit. There was not one article of clothing in the bag that wasn't neutral. I had black and gray and brown and navy blue clothes. I wanted something pink or red or at least a pretty shade of blue.

"Miriam?" I asked.

"Yes?"

"I'm going a bit stir crazy," I admitted. "Is there anything I can do, other than look through pictures of myself?"

"In other wards, I would bring you and another patient together so you could play cards or something. But, Anna, we are in the Janus Thickey ward," she explained. "Most of the patients here are permanent residents who have become mentally damaged at some point in their lives. They're probably not who you're looking to socialize with."

I could tell she was thinking. Then with a smile she added, "I will see what I can do."

"Thank you," I said.

She nodded and left. I guessed she was scrounging up a newspaper or something that would entertain me for awhile.

I ate lunch, a bowl of chicken noodle soup. All the food here was very bland. I could tell I was used to more flavorful things. It really was boring, just sitting there.

Miriam returned to collect my lunch trays. "Do you think you're up for a visitor?" she asked. "Not someone from your life. Just someone. Another patient."

I nodded. "Sure," I said.

She seemed happy. She returned about five minutes later with my visitor. I was first surprised by the fact that it was a man. He was shorter than Christopher, but equally nice to look at. He had dark hair that was pretty long and had stubble on his face. He was wearing dark jeans and a worn, soft blue shirt. "Hello," he said. He seemed quiet but friendly.

"Anna, this is Harry," Miriam said. "Harry, this is Anna."

"Hi," I said. She handed him a pack of Exploding Snap cards and left us alone. He sat in the chair next to my bed.

"You have amnesia?" he asked, after a few moments of silence.

"That's what they tell me," I said. "Why are you here? I thought Miriam said that the ward was for people with mental damage."

He blinked once but didn't say anything. I realized how rude that sounded.

"I didn't mean to sound so... obtuse," I explained, and could feel my cheeks grow warm. "I'm still a little new to this interaction thing."

"It's fine," he said, genuinely. "I'm not always very nice to myself. They have me on a medical potion, but it's not widely used. They're keeping me here for a bit to monitor me."

I nodded. That was a little sad to me. He didn't seem that old; he may have been older than me but was definitely younger than Christopher. "What do you do for work?"

"I'm an Auror," he said.

"Oh. I am too," I commented. The fact that he might be connected to me in real life was a little exciting to me. "Or, at least that's what they tell me. Do we work together? Do I know you?"

"You are," he informed me. His voice was kind and I was glad for a little company. "But we don't work directly together. We're acquaintances but we don't really..."

I turned and laid on my side so I could talk to him better. I propped my head up on my elbow. "Did I send you a Christmas card last year?" That seemed like a good judge on where in the acquaintance to friend range we were.

"That's not a good measure. Christopher sends a Christmas card to anyone who either of you even look at every year. But I was invited to your Christmas party, which is a bit of an honor to some people. There's only one hundred and fifty invitations to that."

One hundred and fifty people at a party sounded absolutely suffocating to me. "Wow," I said. "That's a lot of people."

He nodded. "Yes it is."

"Where could we even fit that many people?"

"His estate is very large," he said. "There's a ballroom."

This was all crazy to me. I needed to see it. "Oh my God," I said.

"Overwhelming?" he asked.

"I'm just trying to imagine living in a house that has a ballroom," I admitted.

"It's a bit much, isn't it?" he asked, a small smile appearing upon his face.

"Oh, just a bit?" we both laughed. "Where do you live?"

"An apartment in Muggle London," he shrugged. "I grew up with Muggles."

"Ah," I said. That answered why he would choose to live out there. "Muggles are interesting."

He nodded. "Yeah." A few moments of silence passed between us.

"Wait, if you're an Auror and I'm an Auror, do you know what happened to me? How I ended up in this condition?" I asked, hoping someone could shed some light.

"You're going to have to ask Christopher," he said. "I'm not sure about all the details."

I sighed, and nodded. "Fine," I said.

"Want to play Exploding Snap?" he asked. I could tell he was trying to ease the awkwardness.

I had been looking at the cards every few moments since he came in here. While I wanted something to entertain me, I was embarrassed to admit I didn't remember how to play. "Er..." I began, not sure what I should do.

"Do you remember?" he asked.

I shook my head, "Not quite."

"I'll explain," he said softly, and began to shuffle the deck. "We will have to play a slight variation, as we haven't got wands on us, but we'll make do..." It only took a few minutes to learn the game, it was very simple. But somehow, our game got locked in a stalemate. Eventually, he found a way out and the cards exploded in my face. I knew that it was coming but it was still a shock, and I turned to look at him wide eyed. He started laughing at the expression on my face, and I joined in. It felt really great to be laughing like that.

Miriam came in, followed by Christopher. From the look on Christopher's face, I felt as if I had been doing something wrong. But I hadn't, I'd been playing a simple game with Harry. I watched Christopher and Harry exchange a glace, and Harry stood up. "That was fun, Anna," he said.

I smiled at him, "Yes it was. It was lovely to meet you."

He left with Miriam and Christopher sat down next to me. "You don't like him?" I asked.

Christopher shrugged. "He isn't my favorite person, no."

"Why?" I asked, curiously.

"Long story," he said. "Anyways, I talked to Healer Davis and he's going to give you a small reprieve on Saturday afternoon. He said you're walking now?"

"Yes," I said, triumphantly. "Want to see?"

"No, no, I believe you. Save your energy for Saturday."

"Is it the Christmas party?" I asked.

"No, that's the next weekend," he said. "Wait, how do you know about that?"

"Harry told me," I said, stretching out my arms.

"Ah, lovely," he said, sarcastically. Christopher was an interesting person. I was trying to figure out why he didn't like Harry. "Anyways, from noon time to three on Saturday. It's just a small get together, mostly family."

I wondered if he meant his family or my family. "Will my dad be there? Miriam told me about him... he was an Auror, like me."

"Indeed, he was," Nicholas started. "But I believe he will be busy on Saturday. I don't think he will be there."

That disappointed me, but he said that family would be there. Maybe I had cousins or something who I was close to. "All right," I said. "Oh, could you tell me about the accident now?"

"I don't know all the details," he admitted. "But there was a newspaper article written on it, and I will have that sent over for you in the morning. Essentially, you were out on a mission with your troop that I asked you not to go on, and a spell that someone had cast backfired and you were hurt."

I wondered what the mission was. Hopefully the newspaper article would tell me. "Thank you," I said. He grabbed my hand and pressed a kiss to it, then held it in his hands, circling the back of it with his thumb.

"I miss you, love," he said. "I can't wait until you're better. It's really hard... at home without you."

"I'm sorry," I said quietly. I did feel bad that I was causing him pain. Even though I wasn't so sure what I had found attractive about him, I did not want to make him hurt.

"It's not your fault," he assured me. "You just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"They said they might be getting me a Pensieve to look at memories," I informed him, hoping that it would cheer him up a little.

"Ah, yes. I heard," he said. "If that's the case, I will probably take tomorrow afternoon off and show you some memories. Today I just took my lunch hour later."

"Thank you for visiting me," I said.

"Is there anything I can get you in here? I simply cannot imagine having to lay in a bed all day," he said.

I took a moment to think about what I wanted. "Clothing," I decided.

"I thought I had clothing sent over," he said, raising an eyebrow.

"You did," I said. "But if it's not too much of an issue, could I have some clothing that isn't a neutral color? I'd love something colorful."

He nodded, "All right." He looked a bit unsure, though. "If that's what you would like, I will have a catalog of clothing sent over and you can pick what you'd like out. I will send for them and bring them with me when I come tomorrow."

"Thank you, Christopher," I said.

"I've got to leave now, though, if you don't mind. I've got a meeting with the Minister."

"No, that's fine," I said. "Don't keep the Minister waiting on my account."

He kissed my cheek and then he was gone, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I was tired, which was a welcome addition to bored. I spend the night going through a clothing catalog that had arrived just after dinner. I was amazed at the prices, but remembered he has a ballroom in his house. I chose only a few outfits; a skirt and a pair of pants, along with a few shirts.

It was a good day, overall, I thought, and I went on to be happy.

Author's Note: Here's chapter two :) Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far, it really means a lot to me. I just wanted to do a shout out thanks to my beta, karmonblake, for making this story much easier to read :) Thank you! I'll update with the next chapter soon. Merry Christmas to all those celebrating it!


	3. Chapter 3

I woke up to a Pensieve being placed in my room. Four wizards were carrying it in and I was disorientated by my sleep. Miriam gave me a small vile, and told me to drink. It put me back to sleep for a few more hours.

When I woke up again, I felt much better rested. I was ready to face the day.

"Good morning, dear," Miriam said, coming into my room. She handed me a plate of breakfast; today it was pancakes and sausage. "Christopher had some clothing sent over for you."

I looked through the pile. They were all beautiful, and in vibrant colors. "These are great," I said, running my hands over the soft fabrics.

"If you pick out an outfit, I'll help you get dressed," she said. I chose to wear the pants and a bright blue shirt. I felt better about myself, in clothing that I actually liked. I used my cane and got to see myself in the mirror. In the mirror, I liked the way that I looked.

I ate my breakfast and brushed out my hair. I really wanted to cut it off; it was long and unmanageable. I would ask Miriam again, probably tonight, to do it for me. It was a bit knotted in the back and felt kind of unhealthy. Probably because I was using hair cleansing potions instead of washing it.

I went through more of the pictures from my time with Christopher. It seemed like everywhere we went, we got our picture taken. Just before lunch, Miriam came in again.

"Harry would like to know if you're up for some company," she said.

It made me really happy that he wanted to come and visit me again. "Tell him I would be delighted," I told her. "Thank you, Miriam."

About ten minutes later he came into my room, carrying the Exploding Snap game again.

"Hello," he said, taking the seat on my right.

"Good morning, Harry," I said. "How are you?"

"Fine," he shrugged. "Is that a Pensieve?"

I nodded, excited about it. "Yeah, it is," I said.

"Interesting."

"Apparently there's been some success in using them on people who have amnesia," I explained. "So they brought me one."

"Cool," he said. "I... have a memory of you."

"Really?" I asked, excited that I might get to use it earlier than this afternoon. "Can... can I see it? What is it of?"

"The Christmas party last year," he said. "Sure..." He reached down to his waist and grabbed his wand. "Hopefully, this works."

He brought the wand to his temple, and when he pulled it away, a silvery strand of memory came with it. He dropped it in the dish and we watched it float around for a second.

"Have you ever done this before?" he asked curiously.

I shook my head. "No, I haven't. Or... I think I haven't," I said, and giggled nervously.

"Just... hold on tightly," he instructed me, "And don't try and interfere. It's a waste of energy."

I nodded. He took my hand, and I was a little amazed at how warm his hand was. We fell into the Pensieve, and the scene began to build itself up before us.

It took me a moment to get a feel of the room. We were at the top railing of a grand staircase that led into a ballroom. White lights twinkled everywhere and a pine garland wrapped itself up the railing.

"This is amazing," I breathed. We were surrounded by beautiful people, all dressed in exquisite gowns. I could hear music playing, it sounded like a live band. I looked over the railing and saw that they were playing in one corner. I had to stop looking over the railing, though, because I got a little dizzy.

"There I am," Harry said, nudging me in the opposite direction. I turned around and it took me a moment to spot him. His hair was shorter and combed back neatly. He wore very nice dress robes.

"You clean up nice," I said.

"Thank you," he said, a small blush creeping up his face.

The other him turned, and I could see that he was talking to a girl. She was gorgeous; a redhead who was shorter than him. She was wearing a bright blue dress that was draped beautifully around her hips.

"You've got a girlfriend," I muttered. "I can't believe I hadn't even thought of that. She's gorgeous."

"I know," he said, staring off at her. "She is."

"How sweet," I said. "Oh, that makes me really happy."

He began walking down the stairs. I did not recognize a single soul at the party other than him. I wondered where I was.

As we got off the stairs, I saw myself. I was dancing with Christopher, and my back was turned. My dress was a steely gray color, and from the back I could see it flared into a wide skirt with a train. Christopher and I danced a complicated dance without ever making it look hard.

"I can dance?" I asked. I was a little mystified at that. Now, I seemed to be a little klutzy. My former life fascinated me.

She, or me rather, turned around, and I gasped.

She was very obviously pregnant; probably only a few days off from giving birth.

"I was pregnant!" I said, looking at him. I couldn't believe that I had gone all this time without knowing I had a child! Why hadn't anyone told me?

My mind flashed to the other side of this argument. What if there was no baby? What if she had died before she was born or since then?

"You didn't know?" he asked, looking a little confused.

I shook my head slowly. I walked toward myself, examining her further. "Not a clue," I admitted.

"I'm so sorry," he said. His face was white, and I could see that he had paled in regret. "I just assumed that someone told you that you were a Mum. It's kind of a vital piece of information in identity."

"Girl or boy?" I asked.

"Girl," he said. "Sophie? Sophia? Something like that."

"Oh my God," I whispered. I didn't know how anyone could be out, dancing, wearing heels when they were that pregnant. I walked across the dance floor to see as Harry jogged to catch up to me.

I watched as her face fell as she and Christopher stepped off the dance floor. She obviously did not want to be here, but as Christopher glided her over to company, there was a fake smile on her face.

"I need to get out of here," I told him. It was making me absolutely sick to my stomach that I had a child and she was without me at the moment. I should have been at home with my baby.

"Okay," he said. He took my arm, and after a stomach turning second, we were back in the hospital room.

I sat on the bed, my head was spinning. I had a need to see my daughter now. It was if a week's worth of mothering instinct had kicked in at once and it overwhelmed me.

"Just... sit there," Harry said, worry in his voice. "I'm going to get Miriam."

I had no plans on moving, a sort of tunnel vision took over my thoughts. Miriam rushed in and checked my vitals. "Now, dear, you've got to remember to take it easy," she warned. Her voice was still nice and cheery, but I could tell she was not very happy with us. "Too much stimulation could end very poorly."

"I asked for it," I informed her. "It isn't Harry's fault."

"I didn't say it was," she said quickly. "Christopher is on his way to see you."

Her announcement evoked dread in me. I did not want to see Christopher right now, just our daughter. I wondered all sorts of things about her, was she speaking yet? Had she begun to walk? Whose hair had she gotten; my curly, blonde, or perhaps, his dark hair? Maybe she had blue eyes instead of his hazel eyes. I wondered did she like to cuddle. Was she a morning baby or a night one?

I wanted to know, and I had a strong desire to see her now.

Christopher came in about five minutes later, looking rushed. I was snacking on a small baguette and apple juice that Miriam had brought me. She thought that my blood sugar might have been low, and that was why I was so overwhelmed.

"Anna," he said, kissing my cheek. His face was cold, as if he had been out in the cold.

"Hi, Christopher," I said. He unbuttoned his pea coat. "I have a daughter." The words still sounded foreign to me. I just couldn't imagine it.

He sat down. "Yes, yes we do." he said. He dug out his wallet, and opened it to reveal a picture of us three. It might have been a few months ago, as she was pretty small. She had my curly hair, but it was ginger colored, which I found odd. I couldn't tell what color eyes she had, but she was beautiful.

"Red hair?" I asked, looking at him. His hair was definitely brown.

"You were a ginger when you were little," he said. "So she will probably have your hair. Sophia Camille Marie Bennot... that's her full name."

I picked up the book that I wrote everything in and added that to the bottom of the list. "I need to meet her," I told him. "How old is she? What's her favorite food? What does she like? Who is taking care of her right now?"

"Woah, Anna, calm down," he instructed. "She's fine. She will be a year on Saturday, it's her birthday party that you're coming to. I'm not sure what her favorite food is... possibly applesauce. She's still young... and she has a nanny, Connie."

"We have a nanny?" I asked. The whole idea of a nanny just didn't seem right to me. I knew I was an Auror, and that must have taken a lot of time, but the idea still didn't sit well with me.

He nodded. "Her name is Connie, she's from France. She's teaching Sophia French."

"I see," I said, still apprehensive. Maybe it would make more sense if I met her. "Will you please bring Sophia here?"

"Yes," he said. "If that's what you want... I was planning on looking at memories in the Penseive today."

"I already have," I told him. "That's how I found out about Sophia."

"Oh?" he asked. "Whose memory were you looking at?"

"Harry's. It was a memory from the Christmas party last year and I; obviously, found out that I was pregnant."

Realization was apparent on his face. "That was nice of Harry," he said while his face turned into frown. I didn't know why he didn't like Harry, but I didn't really care. I didn't even really want to ask.

"At least he told me," I said. "Were you planning on not telling me? It's part of my identity, Christopher. Were you planning on having me show up at the party on Saturday and just think she was a random little girl?"

"No," he said. "I was going to show you memories of her today, but your friend beat me to it." There was a lot of tension between us and it made me feel awful.

"Please, go get her," I said. I couldn't even meet his eyes; the way he was acting made me feel terrible.

"As you wish," he said, getting up and buttoning his coat. He slipped on his leather gloves and left.

I was left alone for a few minutes and I spent it thinking about Sophia. Miriam came in to check on me.

"I'm fine," I said. "Just a little stressed out... I have a daughter."

"Isn't it exciting?" she asked.

I nodded. "Do you have children?" I asked her. The first time I saw her she seemed motherly to me.

"Unfortunately, no. I was never able to have children of my own. But," she said, "Having patients is sort of like having children."

"Ah, that's true."

"Well, good luck, dear. I'm sure that your meeting will go well," she said, and then walked out.

I only had to wait a few more minutes for Christopher to come back. I did not really want to see him again, but I knew I would have to if I wanted to see Sophia.

She was bigger than in the picture I had seen, but every bit as beautiful. I took her from his arms. "Mama," she sighed, as I pulled her close to me. She nuzzled right into my neck and that pleased me.

"Take off her coat," Christopher said. I listened, and unfastened the buttons to her gray pea coat, handing it to him.

"Oh, Christopher, she's beautiful," I said.

"It's almost her nap time, so she may fall asleep," he warned me. "But, yes, she is beautiful."

"Did we plan her?" I asked. I was curious, as it seemed out of character for him. It probably hadn't been good press.

"God, no," he said. "I mean, we both wanted children, but not until after we were married and settled. So, not unwanted but not planned."

"What came first, the engagement or the baby?" I asked.

"Engagement," he replied. I still hadn't seen my engagement ring, though he had said that he had it. He reached into the pocket of his coat and took out a ring box. He handed it to me. "The wedding was tentatively set for last Christmas, possibly instead of the Christmas party. However, when we found out you would be nine months pregnant at the time, we pushed it back."

"Did it hurt your career at all?" I asked. I didn't really care, as the lovely, sweet girl in my arms was far more important than any political career, but I was curious.

"My publicists decided to spin it as a true, twenty-first century family," he informed me. "So, hopefully not."

I watched as Sophia's eyes began to droop, and she fell asleep on my chest. She seemed big to me, but I had a feeling she was small for her age.

"I love her," I said, running my fingers through her curly hair. She snored lightly.

"She is lovely," he admitted. "Open the box."

I remembered the ring box, which I had set down next to me on the bed. I picked it up, and opened it with one hand; my other was around Sophia. The ring inside was obviously very expensive. The center diamond was surrounded by a band of smaller diamonds, and they all glittered fiercely, even in the dull light of the hospital. "This is gorgeous," I said.

"It belonged to my grandmother," he said. "She and my grandfather were married for sixty four years."

"Ah," I remarked. That was a lot of pressure on us to be together just as long.

"I was wondering if you would consider putting it back on now," he said.

I took a moment to think about it and examine him. With my memories intact, I loved this man. I loved him so much that I had said yes to spending the rest of my life with him and had a child with him. But now, I did not want to wear the ring, I did not love him.

"I don't want to wear it in the hospital," I said. I needed to think of a way to say this that would not hurt his feelings, but would also leave the ring in his possession. "It doesn't seem right. It could get dirty or I could lose it easily."

He nodded. "I see," he said. "But you will wear it on Saturday?"

It wasn't so much a question, but more of a command. "All right," I said.

"Good," he said, standing up. "I predict I will be very busy with work tomorrow, so I probably won't see you until Saturday. Do you mind if I come at eleven to pick you up? I know that Healer Davis said noon, but you have to get ready for the party and that takes awhile."

"Fine," I said. I kissed Sophia and told her I loved her, even though she was asleep, and then handed her to him.

He kissed me on the cheek. "I'll see you later," he said, and left.

I laid in bed that night feeling much better than I had when I woke up. I would have to thank Harry.

Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter :) That's a really great way to start off a story, please keep it up! I know there's not a lot of Harry in this chapter, but he becomes more prominent soon. As always, thanks to my wonderful beta, karmonblake! She turns out chapters so fast! Thanks for all the support. I've added pictures of some of the dresses mentioned on my blog. You can get to the link by going to my profile page and clicking on my homepage. I'll update again soon! Let me know what you think!


	4. Chapter 4

That night, I asked Miriam to cut my hair. I had given it a few days, and I was really sick of it. It was kind of knotted in the back and it felt gross against my hands, like I hadn't washed it

"Are you sure?" she asked.

I nodded saying "Please."

She picked up the scissors and started trimming. At first she just got the knots out, but then began to take length off as well. When a good chunk of hair was gone, she held up a mirror for me.

What had once been an unruly mob of curly hair was now more of a bob. My curls still stuck up at odd angles, but it looked a lot better. I could run my fingers through it again. "Thank you, Miriam."

"I think it looks nice," she said, combing through it.

"Me too," I said. After that, I went to bed, feeling a lot better.

The next day was Friday, and it began on a good note, since I knew I would not see Christopher today. At the top of my agenda for the day was taking a shower and getting dressed. I was starting to feel like more of a person and less of a patient now that I could take more care of myself. I was still limping, though, and my knee ached.

Harry came in before lunch to keep me company. "Good morning," he said.

"Hello," I greeted him, sitting up.

"Oh, you've... done something with your hair," he said, making a hand motion above the crown of his head that made me laugh.

"I did," I said. "You didn't get in any trouble about yesterday, did you?"

He shook his head. "No," he said. "Don't worry about it."

"Thank you for showing me. I know that you didn't know, but it was something that I really needed to know."

"Christopher wasn't too pleased, was he?" he asked.

I just shrugged. "I'm sick of Christopher," I said. "I really am."

He just shook his head. "So, Miriam said that if I'm very careful with you, I can take you up one floor to the tea room for lunch," he announced.

That made me almost giddy with happiness. "Really?" I asked. "Food other than chicken noodle soup and baked fish?" I reached for my cane and stood up, "Let's go!"

He smiled at my excitement. It was a really nice change, to get to go somewhere else. It was the first time I was leaving the ward, which felt a little strange. I walked through the main room, where a few of the other patients ate at a communal table. It was really sad to look at them. But it felt much better once we were out of the ward and in the hallway. My eyes were drawn to so many things; the pictures on the walls, the people in the hallway, the lift. It was as if I was seeing it all for the first time.

Which I was, essentially. We went up one floor on the lift, and then to the tea room. We sat down at a table, and I browsed the menu. "I've absolutely no idea what I like," I said. "But I want something that doesn't involve any sort of broth."

He chuckled. "I'm getting the roast and mashed potatoes," he announced. "A little comfort food."

I read over the menu a few more times, but decided on a burger. I hadn't had beef yet and it sounded good to me.

"Thank you," I said to him. "It's amazing to get out of there. I'd nearly forgotten that life was larger than that tiny room."

"It's going to get much larger tomorrow when you go home for the first time." he said. "Excited?"

I shrugged. "Not terribly," I said. "I mean, I want to spend time with Sophia. She's amazing, really. Christopher set her in my arms yesterday and I fell in love with her, within a minute. What an intense thing to have, you know?"

He smiled at me. "That's good! I'm happy for you."

"Do you have children?" I asked. "I mean, you're a few years older than I am and you had a beautiful girl with you at the Christmas party." I sort of hoped that he had children. He seemed like he would be a good father to them.

"No, no kids for me yet," he said. "I've got a god son, who's about eight. He's..." he trailed off as he thought about him, "I love him a lot. But I haven't seen him since I've been in here."

"That must be hard," I said. I had been away from Sophia for a little over a week and that had been difficult, I couldn't imagine a couple weeks.

"It is." he said. "He is one of the best things in my life."

Though I heard him, I was distracted by the burger that was in front of me. I smeared a lot of ketchup on it and began to eat. It was delicious and flavorful and exactly what I was looking for. It came with fries, which I covered in salt and pepper. When food had flavor, it was amazing.

"This is exactly what I needed," I said, picking up my napkin and wiping my mouth. "Thank you."

"Anytime," he said. "My food was good too."

The waitress dropped the bill on the table, and it was then that I realized I didn't have money. "Oh my God, I've no money on me."

"Don't worry about it," he said. "I've got you covered."

"I am going to pay you back for that," I informed him. I had no idea how, but I would.

He shrugged. "Don't worry about it."

He left the money on the table and led me out. We had to walk through the gift shop, where I got distracted. I saw a pair of light blue hair bows that would look beautiful in Sophia's hair. I paused for a moment and admired them, but kept walking. There was no money in my pocket to buy them.

"Do you want to get those?" Harry asked, coming up behind me. He had stopped to look the newspapers.

"I-" I hesitated. "I don't have any money and I already owe you enough."

"They're for Sophia, aren't they?"

I nodded. He picked them up and brought them to the register, along with a magazine. I was a little embarrassed that I now owed him nearly two galleons. I was sure that I had the money, but it still bothered me.

He returned to me at the exit of the shop. He pulled out his magazine and tucked it under his arm before handing me the small bag.

"Thank you," I said. "I'll give you the money for that tomorrow."

He just shrugged.

"Do you want to come to her party tomorrow?" I asked him. "I'm sure there will be enough food."

"Thank you for the invitation, but I'm afraid I would be an unwelcome guest."

I wrinkled my eyebrows in confusion, but figured it out. Christopher would not be very happy.

"I'm sorry," I said.

I was almost glad to return to my room, because I was tired. I napped for part of the day and got ready for the next day. I was very nervous to return to my home and be around more people that I knew.

I got dressed in the skirt and shirt that I had gotten earlier this week and waited for Christopher to show up. I held the bag of hair bows in one hand and my cane in the other.

"Oh, my God," he gasped as he came into the room. "What's happened to your hair?"

"I cut it."

"Obviously," he said. He ran his hand through it and frowned when my hair ran out. "You'd been growing it out for over a year for the wedding. And now it's gone..."

"It was knotted and disgusting anyways," I said. The fact that he was angry with me just annoyed me.

He just sighed. "All right, let's go." I stood up and he helped me into a black trench coat, then we walked through the ward. He had to check out with Miriam and he told her I should be back around three.

"Have fun, dear," she said, smiling at us as we left.

We got to the apparation point downstairs and he put his arm around my waist. "Hold on tight, this might hurt a bit," he warned.

It was the scariest sensation I had ever felt and left me shaking when I landed. "That was awful," I coughed. "I have to do that to get back?"

He nodded, and began to walk towards the large, metal gate that was in front of us. I looked up, and the house was before us. It was a typical manor house, large and square. Through the gate there were some gardens, but I couldn't tell what was in them because it was winter and they were dead. There wasn't any snow on the ground, which made me a little sad. Christopher walked quickly through the walkway to the house and I just followed him.

When we got to the door, it opened for us. There was a butler at the door, who took our coats. "Welcome home, Miss Anna."

"Thank you," I said, looking all around. We were in the foyer, but I could tell that if we went straight, we would go into a living room of sorts, and behind that was the ballroom. I was trying to figure out the layout of the house. "No house elves?"

He shook his head. "No," he said. "I'd have organizations like S.P.E.W. at my door and office every day."

"Ah," I said, nodding. I had no idea what SPEW was, but I didn't really want to hear the explanation. "So, there's a staff."

"Yes. I'll spare you all the names, but our butler is Roger. Your assistant is Grace, she'll be in your room to help you. And there's Connie, the nanny. There are a few others but you probably won't meet them today."

"Wow," was all I could manage.

"Don't worry, you'll only see a few today. Probably just Grace and Connie. I'm taking you to your suite, now," he said. "Can you go up the stairs all right?"

I managed just fine; it was just taking me longer than usual to get up the grand staircase. "We have separate suites?"

"We're not married yet," he said. "When we are, you will move into my suite." Once we were on the second level, we turned down another hallway, and at the end of it, was my suite. "Here we are," he said. He opened the door, and led me in. The first room I walked into was my bedroom, which was very large. In the center of the room was a little living room, and there was a large window with a view of the back gardens.

"This is beautiful," I said.

"You should see my suite," he said, laughing. Two girls came out, one from the bathroom and one from what must have been the closet. They both wore maid outfits. "Ah, Johanna, Grace."

"Miss Anna, you're back!" one of them said. She was pretty young, so I assumed she was not my assistant. They both seemed happy to see me.

"Well, I'm leaving you in good hands," Christopher said. "Marni will be here in half an hour."

I turned to ask him who Marni was, but he was gone. "Who's Marni?" I asked, walking over to my bed. I put my bag on it.

"Your best friend, Marni Warrington, the famous fashion designer," Grace explained. The younger one left quietly. "She's coming to say hello and show you the latest updates on your wedding dress, since she's designed it. I'm Grace, your assistant. If you need anything, let me know!"

"Thank you," I said. I tried to figure out how old she was. I guessed around forty, as she had a few gray hairs in the bun that was piled tightly atop her head. "I'm sure it must be hard to work with someone who has no idea who you are."

She just shrugged. "Not necessarily."

"So, what does my assistant do, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I do whatever you need me to do. If you'd like a drink, I send word to the kitchens and someone brings it up. I'll help do something with your hair, I like what you've done with it, by the way, though I'm sure Christopher hates it. I'll do your make up. Johanna has gone to get your dress for the party."

That all sounded like things I could do fine on my own, but I just nodded. "Thank you," I said.

"Why don't we wash your hair? Marni will be here soon, she runs on average five minutes early. And after her, Christopher's mother, Hillary, wants to see you before the party begins."

"Do I like her?" I asked, as I followed her into the bathroom. I sat down in a chair next to a sink where she washed my hair.

"Not especially, but you're civil," she said. "She had someone else in mind for Christopher to marry, so there's a little bit of lingering resentment. She also wasn't so fond of you being pregnant outside of marriage... though she adores Sophia."

"I see," I said. She was done washing my hair, and we went to the vanity table where she began to dry my hair. "So how did I meet Marni?"

"She's a friend of Christopher's sister," she told me. "Of which there are three, all older than you. Charlotte is twenty four, you like her. Then there's Kate, she's twenty eight, and introduced you to Marni. Then there's Claire, she's thirty four and you two don't like each other."

"What's his father's name?"

"Christopher," she said.

"Easy to remember," I said.

Johanna had come back and hung the dress on my closet door, and I hadn't even noticed. Grace did my makeup, which was really strange. She curled my eyelashes with some funny contraption and painted my lips a deep red. There was a knock on my door, followed by it opening.

"Oh, Anna," the woman I assumed was Marni said. She came to the vanity and kissed both of my cheeks. "It's so good to see you again.

I was overwhelmed with how pretty she was. Her hair was shiny and voluminous, wound tightly into auburn curls. She stood impossibly tall, but that was because she was wearing high heels.

"Marni," I said. I stood up, and felt like a dwarf next to her.

"Darling, come sit with me," she said, pulling me to the loveseat in my little sitting area. She had a sketchbook with her. "Some tea would be lovely, Grace."

"Coming right up," Grace said, before disappearing.

"So. I've got the final sketch for your Christmas ballgown, I know you've no memory of it but hopefully before then, yeah?" she asked. The Christmas gown was a deep red color and simple. There was a scooped neckline with a little beading and a simple skirt.

"Finally, some color in my wardrobe. I like that," I told her.

"I thought that simple would be good, especially since things are a bit hectic now," she said. "And here's how I've updated your wedding gown. I've added a sleeve, as it's going to be April and it's outside. It might be a little warmer."

The dress was pretty, but I didn't like it that much. It was strapless but had sleeves and had a really complicated skirt. "Huh," I said. I didn't know how I could tell her I didn't like it without insulting her.

"It doesn't matter much, I guess, as I'll show it to you again when your memory's restored."

I nodded, glad that she understood. Grace came back with tea and informed me that Christopher's mother was running late and would not be paying me a visit.

"Why don't we get you dressed?" Grace asked. The dress I was wearing was beautiful, but I hated the dull eggplant color.

"Can we change the color?" I asked.

"If that's what you want, of course," Marni said. "What color do you want?"

"I don't care, just something that isn't dull or neutral."

She made it pink, which pleased me. It did look really nice on me. I noticed we were only a few minutes away from the beginning of the party, so I asked Grace to have Sophia brought in to me.

Grace and Marni were gone, and a girl about my age brought in Sophia. "Miss Anna, my name is Connie," she said. "I am your nanny."

I took Sophia from her, holding my baby close to me. "It's nice to meet you again, Connie," I said, shaking her hand. "You are dismissed."

She nodded, turned, and left. I took Sophia and sat her on the bed next to me so I could do her hair. She was wearing a beautiful navy blue dress. "I love you, Sophia," I said, as I brushed some of her bright hair into a clip. "And I miss you so much. I'm so glad we can spend a few minutes alone together,"

"Mama..." she babbled, sucking on her fist. I smoothed her hair and kissed her cheek. I didn't really want to go down to the party. There was no one down there who I really wanted to see. The person I was here for was sitting next to me on the bed.

"I'll be back soon, I know, and we'll spend some time together then."

Christopher stuck his head in the door. "You're late, love," he said, coming in. "Everyone is waiting for you."

I just blinked at him, "I'm sorry." I said. "I... I'm afraid I will be overwhelmed."

"It's nearly all family down there, Anna," he said. "They're looking forward to seeing you. Now come on, you're not moving very quickly and they're waiting."

I was just so sick of him talking to me like that. He treated me like I was a child and I hated it. I picked up Sophia, but I did not get up.

"Anna?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"I've had enough of you treating me like that," I informed him. "I may be without my memories, but I am not a child. You are rude to me and I'm done with it. The only person I am here for today is in my arms, and I'm in no rush to go see your family."

He looked a little surprised, and turned away from me for a moment. He chuckled, which just infuriated me. "Anna," he said, turning and holding me closer. "I'm sorry you feel that way. It's been a rough week for me, seeing the woman I love reduced to the state that you are in now. It's been a rough week for me and I think I've been taking it out on you."

I narrowed my eyes, not sure I should believe him. He slipped his hand into his jacket pocket and produced the ring. I knew there was no way around it today and gave him my hand.

"I'm sorry," he said, kissing my hand. He put his hand at the base of my spine and drew me closer for a real kiss. I let him, but didn't want to. "Now can we please go down there?"

It almost sounded like he was begging. I nodded, and we began the descent.

Author's Note: Thanks so much for all the reviews. I'm working on replying to them, still sick though so moving a little slower. Thank you to my beta, karmonblake, for the speedy and thorough beta. This chapter is a bit longer than usual as I'm going to be away (the mountains of Vermont to visit some family) and I can't guarantee I'll have internet. If I don't, I promise an update on Sunday when I return. Also, I got my first fan art! It's on my website if you want to go check it out- thanks PotterreadingCoastie. Please let me know what you think of the chapter :)


	5. Chapter 5

I was nervous and shaky as we went down the stairs, and probably would have just returned to my room if Christopher's arm hadn't been around my waist.

He led me through the ball room to a smaller dining room. The room next to it was a living room and there was not a wall between them. About twenty people were there, and there were a handful of children. Everyone was beautiful, and it was very overwhelming. I didn't know where to begin.

"Oh, I just have the most beautiful grandchildren," an older blonde woman said. Since my mum was dead, this had to be Christopher's mum. She reached her arms out and took Sophia from me, which definitely annoyed me. "It's nice to see you here, Anna, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," I said quietly. "I've got no memories so that's a bit inconvenient but I'm fine."

"Inconvenient is an understatement," she chuckled. "But I'm sure you will be better soon. Any word on compensation from your job?"

"Oh, Mum," Christopher said, interrupting us. "I've got that handled. Don't worry about it."

Hillary smiled. "He takes such good care of you two," she told me.

I just nodded. That was how most of the party went; me shifting from one guest to another as Christopher gently reminded me who was who. I discovered that when we were around other people, he was a lot nicer to me.

After I'd mingled through the crowd, we sat down for lunch. Lunch was delicious, though very long. It began with a soup, then pasta, and then finally we were able to get to the main meal, chicken. A beautiful cake was wheeled in after dinner, but kept in the corner.

To avoid being too overwhelmed, I settled on one of the couches with Christopher's youngest sister, Charlotte. She seemed pretty nice and was kind of quiet, so I didn't mind being around her. Marni stuck near me too, but she was pretty loud and a bit obnoxious. She liked to gossip and I didn't understand very much of who she was talking about.

There was a pile of presents on one side of the room, but no one ever looked at them. If I was in charge, this would have been done completely differently. It would have been low key and fun. All of the children looked stiff and unhappy. But alas, I was not in charge.

Christopher wanted me to cut the cake, so I did to appease him. I was getting a bit of a head ache, and mostly just wanted to go back to the hospital. At three o'clock, the party was supposed to be over. However, most people were still there.

I waited until he was not talking to anyone, and tugged on his sleeve. "I don't mean to be rude, but,

I've really had enough for today," I said. I met his hazel eyes, trying to plead with him.

He nodded. "All right," he said. "I guess I can bring you back right now. Let's just slip out."

It was incredibly hard to just slip out of the wide open room, but we did. We were what I guessed was the kitchen.

"Roger, Anna's and my coats, please," he said to the butler who was waiting.

"Of course," he said.

Christopher tapped his finger on the stainless steel island. "Did you enjoy the party?" he asked.

"It was nice," I said noncommittally. It was terribly awkward being alone together without anything to talk about. "I need money."

"How do you mean?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "You're in the hospital."

"I owe Harry some money. We went out to lunch yesterday and I didn't have money," I explained.

"You went out to lunch?" he asked.

"Well, to the tearoom upstairs... I didn't leave the hospital or anything," I said. He was making me feel like maybe I'd killed someone or something. I hadn't done anything wrong, just gone to lunch with a friend.

"Fine," he said. "I haven't got my wallet on me. Roger has my money. How much?"

"Two galleons."

"Two galleons, Anna?" he asked, a mixture of shock and anger in his voice. "What did you buy?"

"Lunch and then the hair bow that Sophia was wearing today,"

"You gave that to her?" he asked, and I nodded in response. "I thought maybe Connie had given them to her."

Hearing him say that someone other than me had given them to Sophia, it insulted me a bit. But I said nothing as Roger came back, carrying both of our jackets. I put mine on and fastened all the buttons. Christopher handed me two galleons.

"Can I have any more?" I asked, staring down at the two coins. Money was obviously no object here. I could see his hesitation. "I make my own money, don't I?"

"Well, yes," he said, "But..."

"But what, Christopher?" I asked, impatiently. I didn't want to play games with him.

"I don't want to encourage you two to socialize," he told me.

I narrowed my eyes. "I'm not a child. You can't control who I hang out with. And you come for an hour a day, I have to talk to someone or I'm going to go crazy in there."

"Then I will come more often," he said, standing up taller and reaching his full height. That intimidated me when I wanted to tell him I didn't want him to come at all. I just wanted him to send someone with Sophia and leave me alone.

"Can I have please just have some money?" I asked, putting my hand on my hip. He handed me ten more galleons. It wasn't much, but it would do. "Thank you."

We walked out and to the apparition point. Knowing what it would feel like almost made it worse, because I was dreading the apparition. But I kept reminding myself; _the quicker I went through with it the quicker I could be away from him_.

He didn't stay long at the hospital, just enough time to make sure I was settled before returning to the party. That was fine by me, as Harry saw me walk in and came to my room shortly after Christopher had left. It was nice that I was accumulating familiar stuff here. I hung up my coat and slipped off my uncomfortable shoes.

"You look nice," he complimented me, as I sat down on my bed.

I smiled. "Thank you," I said. Taking the money from my pocket, I handed him two galleons.

"You don't-"

"Please?" I asked. I didn't want to have that money floating over us. I knew it would never be a problem, but for personal satisfaction, it felt better. He nodded and pocketed the money.

"How was the party?" he asked.

I just shrugged. The whole party had really just worn me out and frustrated me. "All right," I said. "Do I fit in with those people- when I have my mind intact? Because I don't think I like them very much right now. I have an assistant and a butler and a nanny... it's just, I don't know, very overwhelming."

He nodded. "Yeah... you do," he said.

"And, like, why wasn't my father there today?" I asked. That was something that bothered me a lot. I could put up with Christopher's family and the staff and everything, but I only had one family member and he wasn't at the party.

"Christopher said he was busy and no one brought him up or asked where he was. Are we close? I mean, he was an Auror and I'm an Auror."

"Your father was one of the Aurors that trained me," he said.

"You know him?" I asked, sitting up, closer to him. "You have to tell me about him. Why hasn't he come to see me?"

"I don't think you're going to like what I'll tell you," he admitted.

"Tell me anyways," I urged wanting an answer. Though Harry refused at first, he quickly spoke up a moment later.

"Christopher and your father don't get along. Christopher has a reputation within the Ministry of doing whatever he has to in order to get to the top. And your father was not impressed," he said. "And, I don't know for sure, I haven't talked to your father in quite awhile, but I think Christopher gave you an ultimatum or something, because last time I knew, you two weren't on talking terms."

I couldn't understand that. The more I knew about him, Christopher sounded more and more like a monster and I wanted to get away from him. "God, I am a bitch with my memories intact."

He chuckled, but I didn't know what that meant. "That's a strong word for it," he said.

"But it's true," I said. "Why didn't you tell me before? I'm a terrible person and I had no idea."

"What was I supposed to say?" he asked laughing, "Yeah, I knew you in your former life and I hated you."

"You hated me?" I asked, bringing my hand to my chest. I really liked Harry, and it killed me that he hadn't liked me until I'd lost my memories.

"Okay, hate is a strong word," he said. "We'd had a few arguments over what missions I had assigned you. I'll admit I did it a few times just to rile you up..."

I smiled. "I'm so sorry," I said. "I'm so, so sorry. When I get my memories back, I promise I won't be like that again."

He shrugged without a second thought, which sorta bothered me.

"You don't believe me," I accused without trying to insult him more than I already had.

"It's not that I don't believe you," he said. "But I know who you are around Christopher and his people and it's awful, Anna."

I curled up, pulling my knees to my chest. "How do you know that it's Christopher that makes me who I am and not something I do?"

"Because I met you once before you began to date him... your father used to have dinner parties for his trainees."

"So we were a lot more than just in the sidelines of each others' lives..."

"We were never friends," he clarified. "But you're right... we happened to be in the same place at the same time a lot."

"And you hated me," I said. "And I probably hated you. I'm so sorry, Harry. Why are you friends with me now, then? When you know I could wake up tomorrow with my memories and never talk to you again?"

"Well," he took a moment to think about it. "I like you a lot right now... you're a pretty cool person to be around and it's so nice to have someone to talk to. I know you're eventually going to get your memories back. It's just... something that will have to be dealt with."

"Thank you," I said to him. "Even if we have some bad things in our background, thank you for being my friend here."

He smiled.

~.~

I slept for a long time that night because I was exhausted. I had a lot to think about... the situations with my father and with Harry.

When I woke up, Miriam came in. "Would you like to join the other patients for breakfast?"

"That's an option?" I asked.

"Yes," she said. "I haven't wanted to but I think after yesterday you will be okay. There's only a few people."

I put on my bathrobe and slippers and joined the five other people of the ward. Harry smiled at me and motioned for me to sit next to him on the bench, which I did.

"Good morning," he said.

I smiled at him. "Thank you," I said. Besides Harry, there were four other people at the table. A blond, older man who I vaguely recognized but could not place. A man and woman sat next to me and I wondered if they were a couple, because they were holding hands. Next to them sat a young woman, probably around thirty, who kept making strange noises and twitching.

They all looked so sad. No one smiled or talked, and it was very boring. There were no Christmas decorations up; the walls were all a bland tan color.

"What are you planning on doing today?" Harry asked.

I thought about it. I didn't have any big ideas, really, but there was something I wanted to do. "I'm going to write a letter to my father."

"I think that's a great idea," he said. His approval meant a lot to me, he was probably my closest link to my father. We were sitting really close to each other, and his thigh pressed against mine. I could tell that he had showered this morning because the hair on the back of his neck was still a little wet and he smelled like soap and body wash. His strong hands gripped the fork loosely as he lifted eggs to his mouth.

"What are you doing today?"

"My godson is coming for a short visit. We get to eat lunch together," he explained happily. Talking about it, he lit up with glee.

"Have fun," I told him.

I went back to my room and asked Miriam for paper and a quill. I hadn't written anything since I'd been in the hospital, so it took a few minutes for my letters to look like letters.

_Dear Dad,_

_I've been informed that we're not on very good terms at the moment. I'm in St. Mungo's after an accident at work and have no memories of anyone. The fact that we don't have a good relationship is really saddening to me, and I want to try and fix that. I bet you're busy, but if you had the time, I would really appreciate a visit._

_Love,_

_Anna_

I folded up the letter and placed it on my bedside table. I would ask Miriam to mail it for me next time she came in.

I spent the afternoon relaxing. Yesterday had tired me out and last night's sleep wasn't quite enough to fully recover.

I was happy that I had worked towards solving the issue with my father. However, I still had to do something about Harry.

He was my best friend right now. He made me laugh, got me out of this tiny room, and I felt better when I was around him. It made me less lonely and happy to spend time with him. He was so the opposite of Christopher. He wasn't uptight or fixated on his success or materialistic or controlling. Christopher made me want to run and hide.

But I wasn't engaged to Harry. When my memories returned, I would be back in Christopher's arms, and that kind of disgusted me. I wished things were different, with Harry the one I was engaged to.

I had to admit to myself that I fancied Harry.

Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews! You guys are amazing. Hopefully, you've checked out the sequel to Tonight, called Tomorrow, on my account. I think I've managed to get up to date with all the reviews. If I haven't, I apologize and will be better about them soon. I'm updating my website tonight with the character board for the story, as most characters have been introduced. Let me know what you think of the chapter :) As always, thanks for the beta to karmonblake.


	6. Chapter 6

Miriam mailed the letter for me, and it made me feel like I had done something good. I was doing my best to fix the situation.

The next day, Harry came in pretty early in the morning. He seemed a lot happier than when I saw him yesterday. "Good morning," he said, happily.

"Hello," I said. "How was your visit with your godson?"

He grinned. "It was really, really good. One of the highlights of the past few weeks, definitely. I've missed him so much."

His happiness was contagious, and I smiled back. "That makes me happy. Will you see him again?"

"Probably not until I'm out..." he explained. But he didn't seem too put off to not see him soon. "Did you write your dad?"

"I did," I said. "And Miriam mailed it so he should have it today. Maybe he will come visit me." I hoped he would, as it would make the day a lot more bearable.

"Did you enjoy breakfast with the other patients yesterday?" he asked.

"They're all so sad," I commented. "I mean, it's nearly Christmas and you would never know it. No decorations, stupid, bland food... not even a tree or stockings. How sad?"

"Well, most of them don't really know it's Christmas..." he told me. I knew that was true but it didn't make me feel any better.

"Well, I know it's Christmas and you know it's Christmas. The tearoom is all decorated, but we're the only ones who get to go to that," I said.

Miriam came in, carrying lunch for both of us.

"Miriam?" I piped up before she had a chance to put the food down. "Does anyone decorate for Christmas?"

"Well," she began, setting down the food and crossing her arms. She didn't do it to be stern, it was just her relaxed pose.. "We used to have a Healer, his name was Jim, and he was in charge of it. He'd get a tree and decorate it and make paper chains... but he's since moved up in the ranks and been transferred to a different floor. I'd decorate it, but I've got so much work to do..."

"Can we do it?" Harry asked. "We're pretty able bodied and Anna's knee is getting better."

"I will talk to your Healers and we will decide if that's okay," she said.

We spent the afternoon together playing Exploding Snap. I had gotten a lot better at it in the week we had been playing.

"Will Christopher be here soon?" he asked after a while.

I nodded. "Unfortunately..." I said. I hadn't seen him since the party but I knew he would show up here soon.

"I should probably leave then," he suggested gathering the cards and stuffing them back into the sleeve they came in. "I don't want to cause any more tension."

"Thank you, Harry," I said genuinely. I was thankful that he understood the situation well enough.

"I'll work on Miriam about the Christmas stuff," he winked at me and left.

Merlin, I adored that man. He was sweet and I enjoyed doing the nearly nothing I was allowed to do with him.

He was right, and Christopher showed up about half an hour after Harry left. He came with Sophia today, which cheered me up a ton. She was so beautiful and gentle and liked to cuddle.

"You were supposed to send me a newspaper article about the accident I was in and you never did," I told Christopher. "I want to know what happened to me."

"I told you, I don't know the whole story," he said.

I didn't believe him one bit though. I was sure he would have questioned everyone involved and pinpointed the person at fault. "I'm sure you know enough to satisfy my curiosity," I said. "I don't believe you."

He pursed his lips, a little put off that I could see through him, and sighed. "You were on an assignment, that I asked you not to go on it."

He'd told me that bit before, so nothing was new. "I know that already. Where'd I go? How'd I end up like this? Was anyone else hurt?" I bombarded him. For the first time, I wondered if other people had been hurt in the accident. How selfish was I that it had taken me a week to think about others.

"Anna," he sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. "You'd been taking potions to suppress your appetite because you still hadn't lost the last bit of weight grained from Sophia's pregnancy and you wanted to look good for the Christmas party. This caused you to faint while on the job and someone attacked you and that's why you don't have your memories right now."

"You're saying that I'm like this because I thought I was fat?" I asked, pissed off at myself. How could a little weight cause me to be so insecure I risked getting killed for it?

"You did need to lose the weight..." he trailed off."But you were stupid."

Anger burned within my veins. I didn't want to hurt anyone else. "Was anyone else hurt?"

He shook his head. "Everyone else got out fine," he informed me. "Don't worry."

I held Sophia tightly, and she was happy to be close to me. My stupidity really bothered me now. My body was well tones and proportionate, I didn't see what I needed to change. I didn't want to be around him anymore. He was a reminder of my past stupidity.

I could tell he was uncomfortable talking about the accident, so he plowed onto another topic.

"The Christmas party is on Saturday night. I've already talked to your Healers and you will be able to attend from five to ten," he said. "It does not start until seven, but you need to get ready and it's a big occasion. Tons of press will be there, so you'll have to be all made up for the pictures."

The last thing I wanted to do was spend more time at the mansion, but it was not worth the fight for something like this. "Okay," I said, quietly. "Marni showed me the dress I'm wearing for it."

"She's very proud of it. It will be showcased in the front page of the Society section of The Daily Prophet," he informed me. "She will be by tomorrow to take final measurements, don't worry."

Christopher didn't stick around very long, which was a double edged sword, as I wanted to see Sophia.

Harry showed up in my room in the morning, brimming with excitement. "Healer Davis said we can go out tomorrow and get a tree for the ward," he said, sitting down in the chair next to my bed. I hoped it was a comfy chair, as he spent a lot of time in it. "On the condition you can walk across the ward and back without a cane by dinner time."

"Really?" I asked, happiness bubbling up within me. Going out into the city and finding a Christmas tree would be loads of fun, I knew it. "I can definitely do that."

"Yeah," he said. "We just have to be back for our noon time medicines."

"Harry, you're the best!" I told him. "I'm so excited for this."

Getting to spend time alone with him in the city would be tons of fun. I couldn't wait for tomorrow now.

There was a knock on the door, and Miriam came in. "Dear, you've got two visitors out here that would like to see you. Are you up for it?" she asked.

Had my father read my letter and come to see me already? I so hoped he would walk in the door. Not that I knew what he looked like, but I hoped desperately. "Yes, of course," I said.

She returned a few minutes later, with Marni, Connie and Sophia to see me. I sat up and took Sophia right away, as she was the only one I was happy to see. Plus, I hated to see her in Connie's arms.

"Uhm," Marni said, looking between Harry and I. Harry stood up from his chair.

"I'll see you later, Anna," he said, edging out of the room. He was probably intimidated by them, I hypothesized.

"Bye, Harry," I said, sitting on the bed with Sophia. She bounced up and down as I held her in my lap. "So, why are you here?"

"To get your measurements for the Christmas party dress," Marni said, exasperatedly. "I've got it nearly done, just might have to tighten things up in a few places. And Connie thought you might want to see Sophia today, as Christopher is too busy to come visit you."

I doubted that Christopher was truly too busy, but that was fine. His absence did not bother me one bit. Their presence, on the other hand, did. I wanted to get them out of here as quickly as possible, but I knew they would take Sophia with them. Confliction rose within me.

I stood up, and Marni took out a measuring tape. It wrapped itself around my body; my waist, chest, hips, and arms. She made me put down Sophia so she could get them and Connie picked her up. I watched them together. Connie was a pretty girl, probably a few years older than I was. She had short hair, but the pixie cut looked good on her. She wore nice clothing, and I could tell from the way she held herself she was from wealth. It made my question why she was a nanny for us/

Marni read the tapes and began to write stuff down. She sighed as she saw my waist measurement.

"What?" I asked, curious of her reaction.

"You've gained weight," she informed me.

"A lot of weight?"

She shrugged. "A few pounds. I'll be opening things up instead of pulling them in, I guess," she said quietly.

I felt awful. My weight wasn't something I gave a lot of care about right now, I was more focused on figuring out my life. I simply didn't care about it, yet she still was able to make me feel awful.

"Well, I've been stuck in a hospital bed for the last week, it's not as though I'm gorging myself on food," I explained, as if that would make it better.

"Don't tell Christopher," Marni said to Connie, pointing her finger. "He's under enough stress this week."

Anger towards Christopher caring that much about my weight bubbled up within me. I just wanted them to go away, I was sick of the drama and the superficiality. If Christopher really loved me, he wouldn't be stressed out about me gaining five pounds. My weight was a contributing factor as to why I was in the hospital without my memories.

They left quickly after Marni took my measurements, probably because of my volatile attitude. I just wanted them to be gone. I was not looking forward to Saturday night.

At dinner, I had the task of walking across the ward without using the cane. I practiced by walking around my bedroom, making sure I didn't wobble or fall. I was successful, which meant in the morning we would be free to go find a Christmas tree for our ward.

Miriam woke me up extra early in the morning so I had time to shower and get ready. It was a nice change to have a reason to get up and do my hair and look nice.

Harry was waiting for me when I left my room, a little before ten o'clock. "Good morning," I said, beaming at him. He looked pretty happy himself.

"Hello," he said.

Healer Davis was waiting for us by the door to the ward. "Back by noon time, all right?" he asked.

We both nodded and headed out the door. He was quiet as we got in the lift and went to the bottom floor and out the exit. As soon as we were free, we were giddy.

"This is going to be awesome," I happily said.

He nodded. "We have two hours, what do you say about a little breakfast? I haven't eaten," he said.

There was a bag of money in my pocket just in case we stopped for food. "Breakfast sounds great to me," I said. It was actually pretty warm for a December day, and we walked until we found a small diner.

It wasn't that busy, as it was ten o'clock on a weekday morning. We sat right down and ordered. He got some breakfast sandwich and I got a spicy omelet. It was nice to finally get spicy food, like I'd been craving all week.

"Can I ask you a question?"

He looked up from his sandwich. "Sure," he said, looking at me now.

"How did you end up at St. Mungo's?" I asked. He was on a potion and they were observing him. That was all I knew. And we had reached a point in our friendship where I wanted to know more.

"You know that there was a war going on, about, er, ten years ago?" he asked.

I'd read a little bit about it in one of the newspaper pictures of Christopher and I. We had been as some memorial or something. "Yeah," I said.

"Well, I was pretty involved in it..." he trailed off.

"Weren't you a bit young?" I asked. He had never told me his exact age, but I didn't think he was that much older than I was. He was definitely younger than Christopher.

"Yeah, I was about seventeen at the time, I'm twenty five now," he said. So I was correct, he was two years older than I was. "Anyways, I had some lingering anxiety from that, and just some trauma that was lingering and I didn't deal with it. I let it build and build and it just consumed me. I didn't want to hang out with my friends; I didn't want to be around people in general . One of my supervisors at work told me I needed to get help before I could return to work. So I did."

I grabbed his hand. "You're very strong," I told him, rubbing my thumb over the top of his hand.

He sighed. "I wouldn't say that..." he admitted."But I need to get back to work so I'm doing what I have to do to get better."

I nodded. "Thank you for telling me, Harry." While his story made me sad, I had hope. He was doing what he could to get better.

He didn't really acknowledge that, but we finished up our breakfast and got ready to go into the city.

Author's Note: Sorry for the slow down, everyone. Seems the week I go back to school, I get the flu and spend a few days lying in bed feeling like I'm dying. Not so great for the writing. Anyways, the slower updates should continue about two more weeks, I have semester exams coming up :(. But after that, good to go. Thanks for all the support :) A chapter of Tomorrow will be up by the end of the weekend. Thanks to my beta, karmonblake, for the help :) Let me know what you all think!


	7. Chapter 7

Eating breakfast only took about half an hour, so we walked through the park. I put my hand in the crook of his elbow, wanting to be close to him. It was almost like a date, but we both had people waiting for us. He had his redheaded girlfriend and I had Christopher.

We sat in the park for a little while, because it wasn't too cold.

"Did you ever hear back from your father?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No, I didn't," I said. Miriam hadn't given any mail to me, which had led to a lot of disappointment. I wondered if he read it. I hoped my actions in my former state had not been so awful that he wouldn't even read my letters.

"That's strange," he said. "I mean, I don't know you're father very well, but I pegged him as the sort of man who would answer that kind of letter."

I shrugged. "No one wants me, I guess," I said. I knew it sounded like I was having a pity party for myself, but it was true. Christopher didn't want me, and I certainly didn't want to be with him. My father couldn't return my letter, which I took as him not wanting me around. Where would I go when I got my memories back? I prayed I would not return to my former life of superficiality, diet potions and newspaper appearances.

"Don't say that," he said, putting an arm around me. I leaned into the embrace, smiling. "I like spending time with you."

"Thank you," I said. I wanted to kiss him so badly. His cheeks were rosy from the cold, his lips bright red. We shared a steady, warm gaze for a few moments, and I started to build up courage.

"Well, we should probably go find a tree," he said quickly standing up. "I don't want to keep you out here too long. A cold is the last thing you need right now."

"Maybe it would be good," I suggested, feeling a bit let down. "I wouldn't have to go to the Christmas party on Saturday night."

He laughed. "I'm sure it won't be that bad. There will be so many people there I doubt that Christopher will even have time to look at you."

I smiled. His gloved hand squeezed mine, and I spotted the Christmas tree farm in the distance. About a hundred trees were lined up, waiting for someone to buy them.

We walked the rows, arm in arm, admiring trees. There were trees of all shape and size, skinny, tall, short, fat... but I stopped at one. It was about Harry's height and seemed full on all sides, something a lot of trees were lacking. We had the advantage of it being daytime during a work day, so it wasn't very busy.

"Is this the one?"Harry asked, inspecting it.

"I think it is," I said. It was a fine tree, and I knew it would brighten up the ward. He paid for it, and we carried it back to the hospital together.

We were back just in time for our noon medicines, and we set up the tree in the communal room of the ward. Miriam dug out a box of ornaments that they used to decorate with, and we put them up after lunch.

I was pretty tired after that, so we went back to my room. Miriam said Connie had come by earlier with Sophia. She didn't want to wait for me to get back, so she left a scrapbook for me. I picked it up, and started to flip through the pages.

I saw pictures of me when I was younger. Not even two years younger, but I thought I looked young. My hair had been long; so long it was braided in nearly every picture. I was a lot more muscular then.

The scrapbook contained lots of pictures from when I was pregnant. There was a picture from every week, from eight to forty one. They were magical pictures, so I turned around, smiled, and waved in each one. It was really neat and kept me occupied for most of the afternoon.

Christopher never showed up, which improved my mood. Overall, it had been a really nice day. I let my thoughts dwell on my lovely morning with Harry, and found myself smiling to myself. He was the type of person I could see myself spending my life with. Not Christopher.

Harry came into my room, looking a bit sheepish. I wondered what the reason behind his sort of sad face was. "Hey," he said. "What're you looking at?"

"Scrapbook," I said, holding up the pages. By now, I'd gotten to Sophia's infancy. She was such a beautiful little thing. I adored the pictures of her squealing and clapping her hands together. I showed him the page I was on, when Sophia was about six months old.

"She is beautiful," he said, sitting in his usual seat. I went through another page, but there was no position from which we both could see well. I moved over and made room for him on my bed. He climbed up there next to me, and I leaned into his body. He was solid next to me, and I liked it.

We looked through the whole album, and it included last week's birthday party pictures. That meant that Connie was in charge of this book, and I sighed. Sophia didn't feel like she was my child. We just shared genetic material and photo opportunities.

"I want to be a more hands on parent," I told him. "That's one of my goals when I get my memories back."

"Oh?" he asked. "What are your other goals?"

"Get away from Christopher and patch things up with my father," I explained. Those three things were how I felt I could regain control over my life.

He nodded. "Respectable goals," he commented. I was glad he approved of them, because I felt like I would need the support.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"I think you can do it," he said. "But I think to do it, you need to get away from Christopher; and that's going to be the hardest one."

I knew he was right. With my memories back, I would love him again. And it would be so hard to leave the comfort he provided me to take a plunge into the unknown.

But I wanted it.

"I'm going to do it," I told him. "I will. I've written down all the reasons I need to get away from him. So even when I have my memories back, I think I'll still realize I have to leave him. I can't continue that life... full of superficiality and lies and... I don't even know what. It's just not something I can do anymore."

He nodded. "If you need help getting out... let me know. I'm not afraid of Christopher."

The words meant a lot to me. "Thank you," I said, grabbing his hand.

"There's something I need to tell you," he announced. My mind raced with possibility. The hopeful child in me hoped he would tell me he fancied me, but from the grave look on his face, I knew that was not the case. Unfortunately.

"What is it, Harry?" I asked.

"I'm leaving tomorrow," he announced.

I felt tears in my eyes almost immediately, but swallowed them. This was no time for tears. I was supposed to be happy for him now; he could leave the small ward and go on with his life. "Oh," was all I could manage.

"Yeah," he said, almost sounding sad. "Back to... well, reality I guess."

Sadness was replaced with intense anger. He obviously knew before this very moment, why hadn't he told me? I needed warning for this sort of thing. "Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.

"I knew that you'd be sad," he explained. "I didn't want to ruin the morning, which was a lot of fun, with sad feelings, Anna."

I took a deep breath.

"It's not as if you won't see me again," he said. I knew he was trying to make me feel better, but he wasn't. I just wanted to go somewhere, away from the hospital, with him and Sophia and stay there and be happy. "I'll be at the Christmas party on Saturday night. I'll come visit too, I know you think I'm just saying that, but I mean it. I can't come tomorrow, because I'm going to see my godson, but I'll come Sunday. And Monday if you want me too."

I nodded. "I do," I said. "I'm rotting in here. I'm all better now, but I don't want to go home and be in that stupid house with those stupid servants. You're the only thing that's keeping me sane in here."

He smiled. "You too," he said.

~.~

We spent a little while longer talking, before he had to return to his room and I had to go to bed. He came to say goodbye in the morning, but didn't say much. In just a few minutes, he would be free to do whatever he liked. Once again, he could eat when he liked, and shower when he liked, and wear whatever he wanted. He probably went right to his girlfriend. I was very jealous.

For the first time, I actually wanted the Christmas party to come, because it meant I could finally see Harry again. I couldn't wait.

Christopher came to get me Saturday evening, and I was in a reasonably good mood. I didn't even try and annoy him.

He noticed. "You're in an oddly good mood," he observed.

"What can I say?" I asked. "I'm a little excited for the party."

"That's my girl. It's going to be exquisite," he said. "I've pulled out all the stops for it."

I just nodded, whatever would make him happy with himself. We got to the estate, and it was certainly different from the last time I saw it. It seemed like a dozen more staff had been added in the last week, and they were busy setting up tables and settings and chairs and candles and flowers. It looked completely different.

He dropped me off in my suite and said I had about two hours to get ready. That seemed agreeable. I wasn't spending the night here, and would only be at the party until ten. It went until after midnight.

Grace was there, waiting for me. I had a long to do list before the party. First up was a bath and exfoliating scrub, as Grace said, 'the hospital had taken away my glow'. I sort of had to agree with her, I looked a lot better in the scrapbook then I did now. But it hadn't bothered me.

My hair was done next. Part of it was pinned up in the back and a few curls hung over into my face. Grace did my makeup next, painting my lips a bright red color and attacking my eyelashes with a curler. Then, it was time to get dressed.

The dress was beautiful. My personal opinions of Marni aside, she knew how to design a gorgeous dress. It was the color of wine, with a scoop neck that was sexy but not too revealing. The skirt of the dress was and just flared without being big like a ball gown.

Grace helped me into it, and it fit perfectly. I guessed Marni was able to let things out enough after all. When I was done, there was still about half an hour before people would begin arriving. "Grace," I asked. "Could you get Sophia?"

"I believe she's in her room, getting prepared for bed," she informed me.

"That's all right. Send for her anyways," I said. She returned a few minutes later with Connie, who has Sophia. She was wearing the most adorable pajamas that had little ducks on them, and her hair was wet. She must have just got out of the bath tub.

"Did you get the book I left for you, Anna?" Connie asked. I noticed that she called me Anna, instead of adding a "miss" to the beginning like the other servants. That confirmed my suspicions of her belonging to a higher class.

"Yes," I said. I really wanted her to just go away and leave me alone with Sophia. I didn't want to talk to her.

"Good," she said.

"You can leave now," I said. I knew I was being a little rude and I didn't care.

"Christopher doesn't like me to leave Sophia," she explained.

I took a deep breath. "I'm the child's mother, Connie, I think I can handle her." I snapped.

She nodded and left the room. Grace was still with me, but she didn't say anything. I just laid on my bed, rocking Sophia and talking to her quietly. Her eyes started drooping, and she fell asleep in my arms. It was a really lovely feeling.

Christopher came to get me just after seven, when the party officially started. "You look beautiful," he said, slipping his hand around my waist. "Give Sophia to Grace."

I did, because I had no other choice. I kissed her head and surrendered her.

"Excited?" he asked.

"A little," I answered. Now that people were here I was starting to get anxious about it. I just wanted to find Harry and get away from Christopher. "You're not going to make me dance with you, are you? I don't remember how."

"Not this year," he said. "I won't embarrass us."

"Good," I said.

"Well, what do you say? Ready to go down?"

I nodded, and placed my hand over his arm like we were supposed to. We went down the grand staircase into the ballroom today.

It was decorated to the nines. There were Christmas trees in each corner, all beautifully lit with fairy lights and strung with ornaments. They put the tree Harry and I had picked out to shame.

Not everyone was here yet, there was only probably fifty people spread about the room. Waiters with trays of hors d'oeuvres circled the room, and I grabbed food from one. I was starving, put it was tart and I could tell it was fish. I didn't like fish very much.

I looked around, for Harry, hoping he was here already. I wondered if his girlfriend would be with him, and I really hoped she wouldn't be. Maybe she would be nice, but I really just needed Harry to cheer me up right now.

From across the room, we locked eyes. He was standing with a group of people, and excused himself. He walked towards me, but had to weave through people so Christopher wouldn't see him. Christopher had stopped, talking to someone he knew from the Ministry. He was well distracted, so I slipped away.

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay! And the lack of response to comments. This weekend I will catch up on everything. You guys are really awesome. I'll probably put pictures of the dresses from this chapter on my website tomorrow. For now, let me know what you think! Thanks!


	8. Chapter 8

"Hello," I said, meeting him in the middle. He looked really nice tonight. The dress robes he was wearing made him look even better than usual.

"You look beautiful," he said, which made me smile.

"You clean up well yourself," I said, and I followed him into one of the adjoining rooms and out of Christopher's sight. "Where's your date?" I asked.

"No date tonight," he said, shrugging. He sounded maybe a little sad about it, but I was happy. I had him all to myself.

"Ah," I said. "Stuck with me."

He smiled to himself. "Have I missed much at the hospital?"

I snorted. As if there was anything there worth missing, I thought, before shaking my head. "Not a thing. How was your first day of freedom?"

He shrugged. "It was fine. I spent the afternoon with Teddy," he said.

"How's Teddy?" I asked. A waiter came by and offered us champagne. I took one because he did, but wasn't sure if I was allowed to drink it with the medicines I was on. So I just kept it in my hand while he had a sip of his.

"He's good. I think he's happy that I'm home now... we spend a good amount of time together," he said. "His dad passed away when he was just a baby and while his grandmother's really good at raising him..."

"He needs a little bloke time," I said.

He nodded. "Yeah, he does," he agreed.

I recognized a few of Christopher's family members. I could see his parents in the ballroom. His mum wore an elegant silver dress. His sister Claire, the one that didn't like me, had a gorgeous blue gown on that really showed off her hourglass shape. She was really pretty.

We passed a few people that nodded at him as we passed. There were a few people I hadn't seen yet and was expecting to see. Christopher's other sisters and Marni, essentially. Even if I didn't particularly like them, I still recognized them now.

"You look fabulous," I turned around to find the source of the compliment and Marni was standing there. She kissed both of my cheeks in greeting. "I knew simple would be the way to go. That dress is going to be very popular after its debut on the cover of the Society page."

While she was talking, I looked at her dress. It was a lot more complicated than mine, as it had a full skirt and was more of a traditional ball gown . "Thank you," I said.

"Christopher was looking for you,' she said." But he was busy socializing with everyone, you know how he is."

I just nodded, and scanned the room for him. I saw him walking towards us, and it didn't look like he was stopping to chat with anyone now. By this time, nearly everyone had arrived. If I looked too hard, I would start to get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people here. I ducked down, hoping he wouldn't see me.

But Marni waved to him, and we were busted. I exchanged a glance with Harry, and he took a step back from us. Christopher came up next to me, placing his arm around my waist. "I was looking for you, Anna," he said.

"Well, I'm right here," I said.

"You look lovely, Marni," he complimented her. I noticed he hadn't even acknowledged Harry's presence yet and was refusing to look at him. "Anyways, it's nearly time for dinner. Mr. Potter, you'll find that according to the seating chart, your table is there," he motioned to the far end of the ballroom, about as far away as one could get from the center table that I knew we would be sitting at.

"Thanks, Christopher," Harry smirked, walking away. I couldn't help but smirk back at him.

Christopher led me back to the center of the ballroom, where he called all the guests to dinner. On our way to our table, he leaned over so only I could hear. "No champagne. You get horridly drunk off champagne, so carry it around, but stick to wine," he said. We sat at a table in the center of the others, with Marni and his family.

Dinner seemed to go on forever between all the different courses. Pasta, fish, chicken, beef and even foods I couldn't identify were being placed in front of me. It was all tasty, and much better than the food I was eating at the hospital, but it was so excessive.

The wine flowed liberally, and I wondered how I dealt with alcohol. I knew champagne got me drunk quickly, but I wondered how many glasses of wine it took. I stuck with just one at dinner; I didn't particularly want to be drunk tonight.

After dinner was over, I knew it was time for dancing. Christopher leaned over towards me. "I know I told you I wouldn't make you dance, but do you think we could do a simple waltz? I'll lead, you just have to follow," he pleaded.

"Christopher," I hissed. I absolutely did not want to go out there and make a fool of myself. But he grabbed my wrist and pulled me onto the dance floor.

The musicians in the corner began to play and the music quickly picked up into a steady waltz. He put one hand around my waist and clasped the other around my hand and spun me around.

My cheeks were warm from blushing and I knew I was doing this wrong. It didn't feel smooth or right and I wanted to get out of the center or attention.

Luckily, couples started to join the dance, so we shifted out of the attention. When I brought my eyes to Christopher's face, he was smiling and looked pleased. I had so much anger built up within me; I just wanted to hurt him.

I had to get away from him, so when the song was over, I stepped away. I fulfilled my duties and was going to find Harry before I did something really stupid,

I found him in the next room over, admiring a painting while talking to someone else. I caught his eye and went to talk to Christopher's sister Charlotte. We chatted for a few minutes until he was alone and I excused myself.

"Having fun?" he asked.

I shook my head. A waiter walked past with wine and I took a glass to drink. "That was awful," I said. I brought my hand to my face, and it was still warm from embarrassment. I was just very much not happy, so I drank some wine. I just wanted to go away from here. "I can't wait until this is over," I admitted.

"We can go up to the balcony if you'd like," he said. "Less people up there, more air."

That sounded like a brilliant idea, so we moved toward the staircase. At the bottom, a waiter was refilling a glass of wine from the bottle. I stopped him. "May I have that bottle?" I asked him.

"Of course, Miss Anna," he said, and wiped it off before handing it to me.

"Brilliant," I said, handing it to Harry. We walked up the stairs and he was right, there were less people. Already, I felt better.

I eyed the door to my suite. It was so close to us, and it would be so easy to slip away. So I did it. I left the railing where I had been standing and walked towards my door.

"Where are you going?" he asked, concerned, but he followed me.

"My suite," I said, smirking. I held open the door just long enough for him to get in before shutting it. I didn't want anyone to see that we were up here.

We both looked at each other and laughed. We had successfully escaped the party. The first thing that I wanted to do was open one of the windows to get some air. The cold, winter air felt really nice on my face.

"So this is your... room?" he asked. He sat on the end of my perfectly made bed.

I smiled. "Yes," I said. "There's a bathroom through that door and a closet through the other." I had cooled down enough, and went to join him on my bed. I leaned against the incredibly ornate headboard and held out my wine glass for him to refill.

It was so nice, sitting here alone with him. It was simple but lovely. I examined how infatuated I was with this strange man. He was quiet and gentle and normal, areas where Christopher was greatly lacking. He moved from sitting at the end of the bed to sitting next to me, and I dared to rest my head on his shoulder.

"This is nice," he said quietly. From here, I could feel the warmth that was radiating off his body and the scent of whatever soap he used. It was so nice to be this close to him.

"I agree," I said. I let a smile spread across my face. I wanted to tell him that I fancied him, but it would make me guilty as well. He had a girlfriend, I reminded myself, even if she wasn't here now.

But the fact that she wasn't here now made me curious. Where was she? Why wasn't she here with him? He had only been released from the hospital yesterday; wouldn't she still be aching to see him? And I didn't think she visited him in the hospital very much. I'd never seen her there.

I could be so much better. Not so much now, when I had to stay at the hospital, but I could. I knew I could love him better.

"Harry?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Hmm?" he inquired, raising his eyebrows at me.

I took a deep breath. It was now or never. "I fancy you," I admitted, and tried to keep my voice strong, but it wavered, unfortunately. I kept my eyes locked on his green eyes, and tried to judge his reaction. My heart sped up and I was nervous as I waited for him.

"Anna," he said softly. He smiled a small smile and looked down.

"I know," I groaned. "I've ruined everything. I mean, you have a girlfriend-"

"What?" he asked, sitting up.

"You have a girlfriend," I repeated. Why was he tormenting me further?

"No," he shook his head. "I do not."

"Since when?" I asked. We were now sitting straight up on the bed and facing each other.

"About six weeks ago, she dumped me," he said.

"Then why did you say you had a girlfriend?" I demanded, crossing my arms. My emotions were mixed, I was both furious with him and filled with a great relief.

"I didn't!" he said. "You said I had a girlfriend... and I merely didn't have it in me to say no."

I was so relieved that I cupped his face in my hands and brought my lips to his. It was a slow and soft kiss, but I felt his hand creep up along my neck. His lips tasted of wine.

He pulled back slightly for air. "Anna," he said again. He shook his head, and rubbed his face. I was unsure what exactly that meant, and got anxious in waiting.

The bedroom door opened and he jumped off the bed. Christopher stood in the doorway, his eyes bugged out in shock. He shut the door as I got off the bed and straightened my dress.

This was awful. I just wanted him to disappear; and everyone else to disappear other than Harry. He walked towards me, quiet, but his eyes were full of anger.

"You disgrace me," he said to me. As much as I hated him, his words still were able to hurt me. "I cannot find you at the party, come up here to look for you, and find you here with this... this mental scum!"

"Don't talk to her like that," Harry said, stepping forward. I was really happy that he was protecting me like that.

As they stood closer to each other, for the first time I realized how large Christopher was. It wasn't that he was fat; he was just a very broad man. He had wide shoulders and a broad chest which filled out his robes. Standing next to him, Harry looked much smaller than I knew him to be.

"Stay out of this, Harry," Christopher said. "You're no longer welcome in this house. You may leave."

His words struck fear into me. What if Harry actually did leave and I was alone here? "Why would I want to be down there with you?" I asked him. "I loathe every minute I spend with you. You don't listen to what I need. I asked you not to make me dance, you agreed until you decided we should dance. It's all about appearance with you. I can't do it anymore."

"You just like him better because he's more famous than I am!" he spat out without a hint of feeling.

Famous? Harry was famous? I looked to him. His face was read and I saw a vein in his neck swollen. He was furious.

"I'm taking you back to the hospital, Anna," Harry said, reaching out and grabbing my hand. "Let's go."

"Don't you leave, Anna," Christopher said. "You will regret this-"

But Harry pulled me from the room before Christopher could say anymore. I was full of shock and hatred of Christopher and intense anger. Tears burned in my eyes, but I tried not to shed them. I didn't want them to fall.

He got our cloaks out of the coatroom and helped me into mine. Everything we did was really quickly, as we didn't want Christopher to find us and try and stop me. I doubted he would make a scene now, with us being so few steps from so many people. I was shaking out of adrenaline. I thought Christopher really might've hurt me if Harry hadn't been there.

At the same time, I had a million questions for Harry. But those could wait. We went out the front door and down the candle lit path to the apparition point. It was there we stopped. I couldn't apparate, but now he could.

He wrapped his arms around me tight to get ready for travel. I felt safe and secure here, and a tear slipped out of my eye.

"It's all right, Anna," he said, rocking back and forth. "I promise. You're safe."

And I did feel safe here, in his arms. It was only a beat before he apparated us. It was not as bad to travel like that as it had been the first time, but it still wasn't pleasant.

He delivered me to my room in the hospital, but looked weary. "I'll come back in the morning and we can talk, okay?" he asked. Of course, I had agreed. I had a lot of things I needed to think about too.

I went to bed, a bit uneasy. My mediwitch came in after awhile and gave me a Dreamless Sleep draught, which caused me to fade to an easy sleep.

Author's Note: I think a lot of you have been waiting for this chapter :) Well, I hope you liked it. I sure had fun writing it! I'll be adding the dresses to my blog for real tonight, I promise this time! Hope everyone's having a nice weekend, and I will probably have another chapter up before the weekend's through. So, let me know what you thought! Thanks! (and thanks to karmonblake for the beta!)


	9. Chapter 9

Upon waking up, I discovered I had a terrible headache. I blamed it on the amount of wine I'd had the night before.

After a shower and some breakfast, I felt much better. The dress hanging up in my bathroom, however, reminded me of the previous night's events.

So much had happened. I couldn't believe that I'd told Harry about my feelings for him. It had not ended poorly, however I did really need to talk to him.

Fury was building within me towards Christopher. Anger no longer appropriately summed up my feelings. But at the same time, I could not completely lose it on him. He still had one thing that I wanted: Sophia. And I knew he would use that against me. I knew that it would not take a lot to be cut off from my daughter, but I had to keep my toes on this side of that line. I loathed him even more because of that.

Miriam brought me Sunday's Daily Prophet because it had pictures of the ball last night. There was a picture of Christopher and I in it, but I did not look at it long. It just annoyed me, so I placed the newspaper on the end of my bed and relaxed.

Around noon time, Harry finally showed up. I'd never been so happy to see him before, and he carried a paper bag that I could tell contained food for us. He knew how to make me happy.

He greeted me with a kiss on the forehead, and immediately my brain began to analyze that. What exactly did it mean? But I tried to be rational. He would tell me soon.

"Sleep well?"" I asked him.

"Didn't wake up until ten," he said. "I haven't been hungover in ages and I forgot how unpleasant it is."

"You were drunk at the party?" I asked. He had been drinking with me, of course, but I didn't think he'd had enough to be really drunk..

"No," he said. "After I brought you back here. I was... so angry. I had to do something to preoccupy myself or I would have done something stupid."

I reached out and grasped his hand. He recoiled it to open up the bag of food and handed me a sandwich.

"I got you a chicken salad sandwich," he said. "I wasn't quite sure what to get you. There's a deli underneath where I live and they've got really nice sandwiches."

"Thank you," I said, accepting the sandwich. It was a nice gesture and tasted delicious. "I'm sorry you were so worked up over it."

"That man is a monster," he told me. "You need to get as far away from him as you possibly can."

"He still has Sophia," I said, shrugging. "I need to be at least... communicating with him. I know if I try anything right now he will cut me off from her and I can't do that. She's my daughter."

"I know," he said, leaning forward and looking me straight in the eyes.

"So I have to wait until I get my memories back, because then I'll know more how I can get her out of there."

"Which brings us to our next point in conversation," he said, standing up. "Can I sit next to you?"

I moved over and made room for him, glad to have him close. Being that close to him made me feel a lot safer. My heart began to race again because I was nervous and had no idea what he was about to say. "I'm nervous," I admitted.

"Don't be," he said. "Let's see..."

"Don't feel obligated to reciprocate anything," I warned him. "I told you last night because I'd had a couple glasses of wine and they gave me the courage to."

"Anna," he said, smiling. "I fancy you back."

"Oh!" I exclaimed, and a great happiness ran through my veins. I couldn't help by smile back.

"But it is more complicated than that," he said.

I sighed, but he was right. There was hardly anything easy about this. "I knew the but was coming," I said.

"I don't think that we should... be in a relationship now," he said. "I think we should wait until you get your memories back and then you can get Sophia and I'll help you get away from Christopher. It's not fair."

"To who?" I asked quickly trying to keep up with his words. "Christopher? He doesn't deserve fair. He isn't fair."

"He doesn't deserve anything from you," he said. "You're right. But be the better person, Anna. Break it off clean when you don't have to worry about him doing anything stupid with Sophia. Plus, it will be so much easier then to be in a relationship. You won't be in the hospital and we can just... be."

I liked the idea of that. Sophia would be with me, Christopher would be out of the picture, and we could just... be.

"I can't wait," I told him. "I hope I wake up with my memories back tomorrow. I'm so sick of this half life... I want to leave the hospital."

"Soon," he promised. "I promise."

"Will you tell me about your last girlfriend?" I asked, realizing I knew virtually nothing about her. "I don't even know her name."

He sighed, and raked a hand through his hair. "Her name was Ginny," he said. "Ginny Weasley. She's probably in that newspaper if you looked in the Sports section. She's a big Quidditch player for the Holyhead Harpies."

A Quidditch player, huh? That interested me a little. I thought she had been too pretty to be a Quidditch player. "How long did you two date?"

He let out a big sigh. "A long, long time," he said. "Like, we should have been married by now."

"How long?" I asked again. I was really interested in the number.

"Let's see... we started dating when I was... er, sixteen. Then we broke up for about two years for a couple of reasons. Then when I was eighteen we got back together... and then her work got in the way. She played for England's Quidditch team in the World Cup, so had to go on a six month tour for that, so we were broken up for a bit then. We got serious about it though about three years ago, maybe," he rattled off.

That was an incredibly long time. About seven years of his life, off and on.

"But you broke up?" I asked.

He nodded. "I'm not going to say it was mutual, because it wasn't. But from here, six weeks later... it was time. We knew we weren't going to get married. I think we'll always be in each others' lives."

"Why?" I asked.

"I'm friends with her brother and her family's sort of taken me in," he said.

I could probably deal with that, I thought, as I rested my head against him. There was only one more thing that I wanted to ask him about. Something Christopher had said last night had bothered me- that Harry was famous.

"Are you famous?" I asked him, looking up at him.

"I knew this was coming," he said, shifting away, which made me nervous. "I... technically, yes. There was a war, a few years back, yeah? Remember, I told you I was involved in it?"

I nodded. He had said it when we went out to find a Christmas tree and he was explaining why he was here. "Yeah, I remember," I said.

"Well, I basically... ended the war. So that's brought me a lot of fame. I hate it, but luckily it's died down a lot over the years. I can usually go out with my mates and not get bothered. But the breakup with Ginny stirred up a lot of attention, and obviously being in here did too. It will die down soon."

"That's why you live in Muggle London," I said.

"Yes it is," he said. "Plus their food is much better."

I laughed, but smiled. Him being famous didn't sound nearly as bad as I had been making it in my head. "Are we done talking about serious stuff?" I asked.

"I think that can be arranged," he murmured. "A game of Exploding Snap sound good?"

"Yes, please," I said. It was such a simple game, but it was a routine and I liked it a lot. The game didn't take a long time to play, so we ended up getting a few rounds in before Miriam came in.

I assumed she was here to give me my afternoon snack or medicine or something. But she was not.

"I'm afraid it's time for Harry to leave," she said.

"What do you mean?" I asked. He had always stayed as long as he liked. "Why does he have to leave?"

"He is a visitor now, not a patient, and he is not related to you. Non-related visitors are only allowed to visit for three hours a day. You may come back tomorrow for three more hours if you'd like," she informed us.

"Can we have five more minutes today because we didn't know?" Harry asked.

She nodded, and checked her watch before leaving the room. As soon as the door was shut, I looked to Harry. "Christopher," we both said at the same time.

"This reeks of him," he said. "I had a non-related visitor for more than three hours. That's crazy."

"Now I'm going to be alone for the rest of the day," I said.

"Or worse, Christopher's coming," he said, standing up and putting his coat on. He gave me a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek. "When would you like me to come visit tomorrow? Morning? Afternoon? Evening?"

"Maybe... mid afternoon? Later in the day than today," I decided I would rather spend the majority of my day waiting for him then being sad he had left.

"All right. I'll be here. Bye, Anna," he said.

"Bye Harry," I muttered, watching him leave. I was panicked and anxiety rose as I waited to see if Christopher would come in.

Ten minutes later, when he hadn't, I deemed it safe. I really had no more purpose for the day, and all I did was lay in bed. I turned on the radio and listened to a radio program, but other than that, I waited for tomorrow.

I needed to have my memories back really soon so I could get the situation with my life straightened out.

In the morning, Healer Davis came to see me before lunch time.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm fine," I explained.

"Is your knee bothering you?" he asked, as his quill scribbled furiously over the paper.

"Not at all. It feels great," I told him. "Other than my memories, I'm in good shape."

"I agree," he said. "The only thing keeping you back is your lack of memories."

I sighed in frustration. Of course they were.

"Is there anything we can do to help you?" he asked. "They say that the best environment that someone with amnesia can be in is a relaxed, comfortable environment with reminders of identity."

"I..." I trailed off, wanting to tell him about the anxiety that Christopher was causing me. "Will you tell people?"

He shook his head. "Anna, I'm here to work for you. Everything is strictly confidential," he assured me.

"I have to get away from Christopher," I informed him. "He stresses me out and just brings so much anxiety into my life and I can't deal with it right now."

"All right," he said. "I can't remove him from your life, but I will do my best to minimize his visits. What is helping you?"

"My daughter," I said. "I love spending time with her, she makes me really happy."

"I will see if we can arrange visits from her every day. I agree with you, that's an important part of your identity. What else?"

I sighed. "I wrote my father," I told him. "Because, apparently, I'm not very close with him at the moment. But I think I need to meet with him and hear about myself from him. I really want to make amends with him."

"You wrote your father?" he asked, looking down at my chart. "It doesn't appear you have mail privileges. When did you do that?"

"Last week. I gave the letter to Miriam," I explained.

"It didn't get mailed, Anna, I'm sorry."

I was relieved that was why he hadn't written back. He hadn't rejected me after all! He just hadn't gotten the letter. But at the same time, I was really angry with Miriam. What a waste of time that had been. "Thank you for telling me," I said.

"And Miriam says you spend a lot of time with Harry Potter?" he asked.

I nodded. "We've become good friends," I told him. "He understands what it's like to be stuck in here."

"Good, I'm glad you have a friend." he said. His quill reached the bottom of the page, and he quickly glanced through what it wrote. "I have a few things to go over in your notes. I will be back tomorrow, there's something I need to think about in regards to your case. If there's anything you need in the meantime, tell Miriam."

He left me alone. When Miriam delivered my lunch, I gave her the silent treatment. I knew that was terribly childish, but I was angry with her for lying about my letter to my father. The whole thing bothered me.

I couldn't bear that I'd been lied to, but I was glad I knew now. I really did like Healer Davis and how he was working with me. He cared about getting me healthy, not the other people in my situation.

After lunch, I received a letter from Christopher.

_Dearest Anna,_

_I spent part of the morning speaking with your Healer. Unfortunately, my schedule will forbid me from visiting you this week, but I will try to come see you before Christmas. However, Connie will be bringing Sophia to you for a visit every afternoon from one to two. Healer Davis thinks this might be a good part of your identity of which to be reminded._

_I am attributing your disgraceful behavior on Saturday night to the amount of wine you drank and mostly empty bottle of wine found in your bedroom. I trust it will not happen again. _

_Rest up, love. I can't wait to have the real you back with us._

_All my love, _

_Christopher_

Author's Note: So, here's another chapter! That was quick, but I figure this is a better ending than the last one. Probably won't be able to update this story again until next weekend. To those of you who read it, I know I owe an update to 'Tomorrow' but it's just not coming as easily as I want it to so I'm not forcing it. Sorry :( Anyways, thanks for the great reviews yesterday. Let me know what you think! Thanks to karmonblake for the beta!


	10. Chapter 10

I waited anxiously for Harry to get there. I had so much to tell him.

He showed up around five, once again with a bag of food. He got me a cheeseburger today, and it was good. I'd been craving red meat.

"How was your day?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "I had Teddy over for lunch," he said. "It's nice to sleep when I want and eat when I want..."

"I'm jealous," I admitted. He gave me a sad smile.

"How was your day?" he asked.

"I talked to my Healer," I explained. "And told him that Christopher is stressing me out too much, so he isn't going to be visiting me this week."

"Awesome!" he exclaimed. "Oh, that's really great."

"I know," I said. "And now every day from one to two Sophia gets to come visit so I do get time with her. It's kind of worked out perfectly."

"That's really great, Anna," he said. "What else did he say?"

"That I'm basically still in here because my head's not right and as soon as that gets straightened out, I can go," I explained. "And that my letter to my father never got mailed."

"It never got mailed?"

"I don't have letter privileges," I told him. "So no. The past week where I thought he had ignored me, I was wrong. Miriam just lied to me."

"Why would she do that?" he asked.

Truthfully, I had no idea either. I wanted to suspect Christopher, but I didn't think he had much to do with it this time. "I don't know. I'm not very happy with her," I said.

"If you want to write another letter I'll send it to him," he offered. "I think it's important for you two to connect."

"Me too," I said. "Reconciling with him is on my to do list for things that need to be done as soon as I get out of here."

"What else is on the list?" he asked, and I could tell he was really interest.

"Let's see..." I said. I had it written down in my journal, but I didn't want to dig that out right now. It had things in it that weren't for Harry's eyes. "Get as far away from Christopher as possible with Sophia, reconcile with my father, and get together with you. Those are the big things."

I noticed he smiled as I went through the list. "I believe those can all be arranged," he said with a grin.

"Good," I said. I got parchment and began to write another letter to my father. I tried to remember what I had said the first time, but I struggled.

_Dear Dad,_

_I was in an accident while on a mission that left me without my memories. It was a really stupid accident, but other than my brain, I am physically sound. I am staying at St. Mungo's until my memories return._

_I know that we're not on very good terms right now. This makes me sad, and I would really like to try to fix it. I know it won't be completely possible until my memories return, but talking to you would do me good, I think._

_I can't be sure exactly what has led us to this point in our relationship, but I can guess. I want you to know that in this experience I've learned a lot about who I am and how I don't want so much of it. I'm going to try and get away from Christopher when I get my memories back._

_I know you're probably really busy but I would love to hear from you or see you if you had the time._

_Love,_

_Anna_

I asked Harry to read it and he took the parchment from me. "I think it's perfect," he said. "Hopefully you'll get a letter back soon."

I sealed it in an envelope and he tucked it inside his coat's pocket. "Thank you, Harry," I said.

He shrugged. "I'll mail it out as soon as I get home. It'll be in Scotland by midnight," he assured me. "And I'll tell my owl to bring any reply back to me as I'm not sure if they'll even give it to you here."

"You're the best," I said.

He smiled and pulled out the Exploding Snap game for us. We played a few rounds, but I was getting frustrated with my hair. It kept falling in my face, no matter what I did with it, and I couldn't see.

Harry took a piece of lint off his shirt and used his want to transfigure it into a hair elastic. He handed it to me, and I piled all of my hair directly on top of my head. I was sure I looked ridiculous, as he burst out laughing. I couldn't help but laugh along.

"You know, I can remember you coming into the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and having your hair all done. I don't know what was done to it, but it was all smooth and soft and wondering if you were in the right place," he said.

"When was this?" I asked. I hadn't heard this before but it definitely did not surprise me.

"Well, when you first became an Auror but you always had perfect clothing and perfect hair," he said.

I liked to know about her, who was me, but I didn't particularly liked what I heard. "I was so... materialistic and shallow," I told him. "I'm sure that's Christopher's doing."

"Definitely," he said.

"Do you know when I started dating him? I mean, he's quite a bit older than I am. It just... so many things don't make sense," I explained. "And I don't want to ask him."

"Er... I'm not sure to be honest. I think when you came into the Aurors three years ago you were already dating. He used to hang around the department a lot, bloody annoying, so I think it might have still been new. I don't really know," he said. "Your dad probably knows better."

I nodded, and we went back to our game. We spent the rest of the afternoon like that, and he would interject with something funny or a random memory of me. In his stories, I could tell how much of an awful person I was, even though he tried to cover up the full extent of it.

Miriam came in eventually and gave us a five minute warning. I sighed, but knew it was time for him to go.

"Same time tomorrow?" he asked.

"That would be great," I told him. He held me tightly for a few seconds, and I didn't want to let go.

"Maybe I'll have a reply letter to bring you?" he asked.

"Fingers crossed," I said. He leaned over to kiss my forehead, and then put his coat on to leave. Saying goodbye to him was one of the worst parts of my day.

I did not stay up late because there was nothing to do. Sleeping was my hobby when there was nothing better to do.

Miriam brought me my breakfast in the morning, but I still hadn't talked to her. I was still angry.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "You haven't said one word to me since yesterday morning."

"You told me you would mail the letter to my father and you didn't," I informed her. Just talking about it made me angry. I was supposed to be able to trust her and now I definitely did not.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I was told by Christopher to do whatever to make you happy. I gave him the letter to mail."

"Next time don't even bother lying to me," I said, fighting the anger. I wanted to stay calm but I wanted her to know how I felt. "Save us both the time. I spent a week thinking my father did not care about me. It just would have been easier if you had been honest with me."

"I'm sorry," she said again. I did not care; I just wanted her to leave.

After I ate breakfast, Healer Davis made his rounds and stopped in on me.

"You've left the hospital a few times," he acknowledged, as he gazed at my chart.

I nodded. "Three times," I said.

"And with Christmas coming up in a few days... I don't see why you can't leave again. Most of the residents in this ward will be going home with some part of their family. I don't really see the need for you to go to your home if you believe that it will stress you out. If you're going to be under anxiety while you're gone, I'm not authorizing it. Christopher doesn't need to know, so I think it might be a good opportunity for you to see your father, if you're up to it," he offered.

My mind soared. That would be _perfect_. "Really?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said. "I think it would be good for you. What do you think?"

"I think it would be awesome," I said. "Really, really awesome."

"Good," he said. "I'll check in with you later in the week and find out what you're doing."

"Thank you!" I gushed. He left and I was imagining what Christmas would be like now. I would spend it in Scotland with my father. Maybe I would even make dinner, though I didn't know if I was a good cook. I guessed not, as part of Christopher's staff included a cook. I smiled to myself, Christmas truly wasn't that far off.

Connie showed up with Sophia just before one o'clock, and I was glad to see my daughter. It had only been a few days since I saw her last, but it felt like an eternity. And she was always glad to see me.

"You may leave, Connie," I said, observing her as she hovered over me. I did not feel comfortable around her, it felt as though everything I did was being watched and noticed. It would not surprise me if she was going to report it all back to Christopher later.

"I-" she stopped, as if taken by surprise. "Christopher would like me to remain with Sophia."

"She is fine with me," I explained, cradling her closer to me. "No need to worry."

She still did not leave. "I'm sure she will be fine," she said. "But I'd rather not worry about it."

"Connie, she is my daughter," I said. "I may not remember her birth but I will be fine taking care of her. Now, please leave. You may come back at two."

She nodded and left. It felt a little nice to be able to tell someone what to do and have them listen, but I was not getting used to that.

"Well, it's just you and I, Sophia," I said. I opened the bag of things Connie had brought with her for Sophia. Inside were some books and blocks and a few other toys that entertained us for awhile. It was the first time I got to be alone with her, and she really showed off a lot of her personality. She was a really funny little girl.

"Just give it a few more days," I told her. "And then we will be by ourselves. No more nannies, just you and me."She had the same exact eyes as Christopher, but she was so much more innocent.

An hour truly was not a long time, but it was good. I could tell she was getting ready for a nap as she was rubbing her eyes and getting a little whiny. When Connie came back in, she hardly said anything to me. I could tell that while she was a staff member, she did not like to be bossed around. I was convinced now that she was not from a lower class like the rest of the staff. She was an elite member of society, forced to work as a nanny.

I knew there was a story there, but there were more important stories for me to investigate within my life. I wrote in my notebook that afternoon, writing down everything I knew about my life so far. I thought maybe seeing it all collected would help me.

Harry showed up earlier than I expected, less than an hour after Sophia had left. It was too late for lunch, and too early for dinner, but he had a bag of food for me.

"I'm sorry," he said. "But I came early today. Some friends of mine invited me for dinner tonight and I did want to see you."

I liked that he came to see me and would have been really sad if he hadn't come. "I appreciate it," I said to him.

"Open the bag," he instructed. Inside were two chocolate cupcakes. As soon as I opened the paper bag, the scent of chocolate drifted through the room. It was hard to not smile.

"These smell amazing," I said.

"They taste even better," he laughed, taking one.

"Why do you always bring me food?" I asked, curious. He had never showed up with some sort of food. I was grateful for it, but curious.

"Because," he said, leaning forward. "For one, the food in here is pathetic and I feel bad you've got to eat it. And secondly, I think you're too skinny."

I looked down at my hands. I probably could stand to gain a few pounds, but I didn't have bones that stuck out or anything. "You're going to make me fat," I laughed.

He shrugged. "I can eat it if you like," he offered.

I took another look at the cupcake and took a bite. It was moist and sweet and the most delicious cupcake. "This is heavenly," I said.

"Still want me to eat it?" he asked.

I shook my head.

"I have something that might make your day even better," he said. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out an envelope. "My owl got back just in time with this."

He handed it to me, and my hands got a little shaky with excitement. There was a wax seal on the envelope, so I knew he hadn't opened it.

"I can leave while you read it if you'd like," he offered.

But I wanted him here. If it was a good letter, I would want to share the news with him. If it wasn't, I knew he would calm me down. "Stay," I said.

I slipped my finger under the envelope and opened it. I unfolded the parchment and looked at what was written.

_My Dear Anna,_

_I am glad to hear that you are on the mend. Some of my former colleagues wrote to me about your accident, and I agree, it was stupid indeed._

_Unfortunately, it has been many months since the last time I saw you, due to circumstances that are, indeed, unfortunate. I'm sure if you've been told anything about your life, you can piece together the circumstances._

_I would love to come visit you tomorrow. I will be in London tomorrow for a meeting with a friend and would be glad to visit around two thirty in the afternoon. Please let me know if this is all right with you. Looking forward to seeing you soon._

_Love,_

_Dad_

Author's Note: Thanks to karmonblake for a super quick beta! You're the best :) Also, I'm pretty sure I've got the best readers on planet Earth :) So, I know I said I wouldn't update this until next weekend but today I started freaking out for one of my exams (Biology) and instead of having a ginormous meltdown, funneled the energy into writing. Much healthier, eh? So, please let me know what you think! Also, if you've got some time, I've updated my writing blog with the current status of things. If you'd take a read and help me out, I'd greatly appreciate it :) Thanks all!


	11. Chapter 11

It was hard to sleep that night, knowing my visit with my father was so close.

Before he had left, Harry told me a bit about my father. His name was Rodney Greenwood. He had been an Auror for a really long time, but when my mum got sick about eight years ago, he stepped down into training. Harry said he was the type of trainer that the students did not like at first, but once they proved themselves to him he was great. He was known for having parties for his favorite trainees, and they knew he had a soft spot for his family.

And I couldn't wait to see him. I had so many things to ask him. I wanted to know about him and my mum and my childhood. I wanted to hear his side of what happened that made us as alienated as we were.

Healer Davis came in the morning as usual.

"My father's coming to visit me this afternoon," I told him.

"Ah, good," he said. "What time? I would like to speak to him."

"Two thirty," I told him. I was practically counting down the hours- four and a half left. One of those hours would be spent with Sophia and I still had to shower and get dressed. It was not that far away.

"And you're going to see if you can spend Christmas with him?"

I nodded. "I hope he will say yes," I said. I'd spent time last night imagining what Christmas might be like, and I knew I would be crushed if he said no.

"Me too," he said. He'd left with promises to return when Dad got here.

I got dressed and brushed out my hair so it would look nice. I tried to figure out what to wear, but settled on my nice sweater. I didn't think he would really care what I was wearing. From what Harry said and the letter, I didn't think he would be so appearance obsessed as Christopher was.

Connie came by with Sophia and didn't even fight me when I asked her to leave today. Sophia had a bit of a cold, so she wasn't really up for anything. I read a few books to her and she fell asleep on me. I didn't mind at all, she looked so peaceful and beautiful in sleep.

And when Connie came back to get here, there was only half an hour until my father would show up. I tried really hard not to watch the clock, as it was making me really nervous.

Eventually, it was two thirty. It then hit me- what if he didn't show? What if he stood me up?

But he did. The door to my room opened and I could tell it was not Miriam. I got up off my bed so I could hug him, and immediately wrapped my arms around him, without even really looking at him first.

"Annie," he said, squeezing me tightly. His voice was a little rough, like he might have a cold. But it was familiar and I couldn't stop smiling.

"Annie?" I asked, as he let go of me. He was undoing the buttons on his woolen coat and hung it up on the coat rack in the corner.

"I know you go by Anna now, but Annie was what your mother and I called you," he told me. "I can call you Anna, if you'd like?"

I shook my head, and sat down. I finally got a chance to look at him fully. He was tall, about six inches taller than me, probably, and broad. His hair was mostly gray, but still peppered with some dark hair. We had the same blue eyes. "Annie is fine," I said. "It's cute."

"You look so much your mum," he said, smiling at me. "Even more since you cut your hair."

He produced his wallet, and handed it to me. Inside, there were a few pictures. One of me when I was very little, I still had ginger hair like Sophia did. Sophia and I looked so much alike.

The next picture was of my family when I graduated from Hogwarts. My hair was blonde now, but I did look different. This was the first time I saw my mum, and Dad was right, we looked a lot like each other. From this picture I could tell Dad was a lot older than my mother had been.

"Wow," was all I could manage.

"So much has changed since then," he said, taking the wallet back. "But I'm so glad to be here... with you."

"When was the last time I saw you?" I asked.

"Ages ago," he said. "I think we ran into each other at some official dinner."

I sighed. "I hate that," I told him. "I've been a terrible person."

"You've made some choices I don't agree with," he said.

"Can you tell me how we got here?" I asked, leaning forward. "I mean, I can guess most of it. But I want to know your side of the story. I haven't asked Christopher about it much because that would mean I would have to talk to him."

"You don't like Christopher?" he asked, chuckling.

I shook my head. "Nope," I said. "I've done my best to avoid him at all costs. I don't like the way he treats me. I can't understand how I ever fell in love with him."

"So you want to know the whole story?" he asked.

"Yes," I urged.

"Where should I start?" he asked.

"From the beginning," I told him. I let him decide.

"I met your mum when I was thirty two," he told me. "Elana, I called her Ellie, was twenty one... one of my mates' cousins. She'd just trained to become a midwife. I fell in love with her right away. She was funny and beautiful and... she was one of those people that just had an infectious happy personality. My parents at first weren't so happy... I mean, there was an age difference and she was a muggleborn. But once they met her, they understood. She had a heart of gold."

I smiled. "She sounds lovely," I told him.

"She was, believe me. So we got married about a year after we met and we moved out of the country and to a house in the country. She thought she was too young to have any kids yet, so we didn't have you until she was twenty eight and I was thirty nine."

"Wow," I said.

"And we had you and you were amazing. You were our pride and joy. Most people get a trophy wife, you know. Ellie... wasn't. She was down to earth and all that stuff. But we had a trophy kid, that was for sure. Top of your class in everything you ever did, but you were a person, too. You were a great dancer and you played the piano and you loved our dog, Chuck," he said. "I was a very lucky man."

Hearing this really built me up. I had a lovely childhood.

"And then when you were fifteen, your mum really just wasn't well. It was eventually found out that there was a big problem with both of her kidneys. No one was a match to donate one, but she managed to keep going for quite awhile. After you graduated Hogwarts we moved into the city to be closer to her doctors, she didn't like magical Healers. She died when you were nineteen."

"I'm so sorry," I said to him.

"She was one of those people that didn't want you to be sad. She wanted you to throw that energy into doing something good. So I through it into work, and you threw it into your last year of Auror training. No one ever expected you to become an Auror, least of all me. I think you were terrified to tell me that was what you wanted to do. But you were pretty damn good at it, Annie," he said. The sadness in his face and voice left him, and he became happy again. "That was about the time you began dating Christopher, I believe. You were always pretty secretive about the relationship."

"Why?" I asked.

"I think you thought I would disapprove," he said. "And I did. Christopher was only an Undersecretary to the Minister at that time. And for some reason, he set his eyes on you. You started coming home with silly things for a nineteen year old to have, diamond necklaces and designer clothing. But you never talked about it. Then you got your own flat. I think it was around then you finally told me you were dating him."

"You didn't approve though, did you?" I asked. All of this information was exactly what I'd been curious about for days. I had my journal out and was writing it all down at an amazing speed.

"No, I didn't," he said. "I knew you would get hurt eventually. I didn't like Christopher's family, I knew his father a bit through the Ministry. They were very shallow people and you weren't that type of person. Your mum and I didn't have you so you could be married off to the best possibility. And Christopher made it clear to me that you were going to b e his. He always made you sound like property which you weren't. And Christopher's mother wanted him to marry another girl, so there was a lot of tension there, especially after you got engaged."

"Who?"I asked. "Who was the other girl?" This was really making me curious. I had my ideas about who it might be.

"Connie Aubut?"

"No," I said, gasping. "Of course." I wrote that down too.

"Hm?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

"She's our nanny," I said. "And I knew she was from a higher class. I knew it. Oh, that makes me so angry. Well, she can have him, but I want the baby."

He chuckled. "That's very Christopher," he said. "Have the next in line already in the house."

"Oh my gosh," I said, placing my head on my forehead. "This is the really hard to hear stuff, coming up."

"I don't have to tell you," he said.

"No, I need to hear it," I told him. "I do."

"But after you found out you were pregnant, they couldn't get rid of you. You moved into Christopher's mansion. That was pretty much when everything went downhill. Nothing was ever said to me, you know. It was just suddenly very hard to reach you, if I did you couldn't talk for long. I'd invite you to dinner, you'd say you couldn't. I'd offer to come there, you couldn't. And you couldn't work while you were pregnant, so I couldn't get to you there. It was like you were lost to me."

"I'm so sorry, Dad," I said.

"Christopher was easier to get to, though. He basically told me you were cut off. He brainwashed you, Annie."

"I know," I said. "He is a monster and he's terrible. I will be getting away from him as soon as possible."

There was a knock on the door, and Healer Davis came in. I had been too wrapped up in what Dad had just told me to remember he was coming to visit.

"Hello," he said, shaking Dad's hand. Dad introduced himself. "How's the visit going?"

"Great," I said, grinning. I may have been hearing terrible things, but it was an amazing gift to get to see and talk to my dad.

"It's been lovely to be back with my Annie," Dad said, reaching out to grab my hand. His hand was rough and calloused, but I squeezed it anyways.

"She's healing nicely," he said. "She's physically sound. We're just waiting for her memory to catch up. Being around Christopher is stressing her out, so I've done my best to keep him away."

"Good man," Dad said, nodding.

"But Christmas is only a few days away now," Healer Davis said. "And I don't like my patients staying here if they don't have to. I'm not sure what your plans are for Christmas, but I think it would be a better environment for her to be in. She may leave the hospital for twenty four hours and spend it with you, if that's all right."

"What about Christopher?" Dad asked.

"I've got that taken care of," Healer Davis said. "He'll be visiting early in the day of Christmas Eve and on Boxing Day. But you have the twenty four hours clear."

"That would be awesome," I told them both.

"I haven't got any plans for Christmas, but you're welcome to come to my house in Scotland," Dad offered. "In fact, I would really enjoy that."

"Me too," I said.

"All right. It's settled then," Healer Davis said. "Feel free to come get her after three o'clock on Christmas Eve. And she just needs to be back in time for her six o'clock dinner at the hospital on Christmas."

"Great," he said. "Thank you. I appreciate this."

"No problem. Enjoy the rest of your visit." Healer Davis excused himself.

I looked at Dad and grinned. "Thank you," I said.

"You don't know how happy I am that I'm here," he told me. "It really means something to me."

"To me as well," I said. "This whole experience has given me a lot. I've got a bit of a to do list for when I get my memories back."

"Oh?" he asked. "What's on it?"

"I want to make things right with you," I told him. "This is the first step, but there's only so much I can do from here, you know? I need all my memories to be able to apologize completely."

"Annie, I can't wait," he said, and I could see how happy he was. "What else?"

"Getting as far away from Christopher as I can," I said. "I could do that now, but I wouldn't be able to take Sophia with me and I can't leave her there."

"Your daughter?" he asked.

I nodded, and it dawned on me. "Oh, you've never met her. I'm so sorry. Yes, Sophia is my daughter. And she's lovely," I said. "I can't wait until you can meet her. I love her already."

"Yes, I want to meet her," he told me. "I can't believe I'm a grandfather. What else is on your to do list?"

"Those are the big things," I said. "But there's... I've become good friends with Harry Potter."

"He wrote me two days ago, urging me to visit you," Dad said. "He told me you've become friends."

"Did he?" I asked. That was interesting, he hadn't said anything about that to me. "We've... yeah. I like him a lot."

"He was always a good bloke to have in training. I enjoyed his company. I mean, he's got quite a lot of media attention surrounding him, but he's pretty down to earth, when you know him," he said.

"I'm quite fond of him," I said. "We will... consider dating after the rest of my life is put together."

"Good," he said. "I... I'm supportive of that."

I smiled. It seemed like everything was going to be okay.

The door opened, and Harry walked in. He looked surprised to see Dad. "I'm so sorry," he said. "I didn't think you'd still be here. I will come back."

"It's fine," Dad said. "I'm heading out in a few minutes anyways."

"It's nice to see you, Rod," Harry said, shaking his hand.

"Nice to see you as well. It's been awhile," he commented.

"Yeah," Harry said, sitting down. "How was your visit?"

"Great. I'm going to spend Christmas with Dad in Scotland," I told Harry.

"Oh, that's awesome," he said.

"How are you spending the big day?" Dad asked.

"Oh, er..." he stopped for a moment. "Molly Weasley invited me to dinner at their house."

"Didn't her daughter just break up with you?" Dad asked, furrowing his brow.

"Well, yeah..." he said. "It will probably be awkward but there's enough Weasley children we won't have to talk. Probably."

"Come to Scotland and spend it with us," Dad said.

"Really?" Harry asked.

"Please," I begged. "I would really like that." And I would. I would get to be with two of my three favorite people. Sophia would be stuck in England.

"All right," he said. "I can pick you up, Anna, and bring you. That way, Rod, you don't have to come all the way here just to turn back."

"Sounds great," Dad said.

"I can't wait," I admitted. Dad got up and started to get ready to leave. After he'd gotten his coat on, I gave him a hug. "Thank you for coming today."

"It was my pleasure, Annie," he said. "I'll see you in a few days."

I watched him walk away, but I didn't feel the pang of loneliness I usually felt when Harry left me. We had a good visit and I was in a great mood.

I turned to Harry. "Thank you," I said, and I gave him a hug too. He wrapped his arms around my waist. It had been a great day.

Author's Note: Well, here you go. There's her dad :) This chapter is unbetaed, so any mistakes are mine. Hope you guys like it. Please let me know what you think! Have a nice weekend!


	12. Chapter 12

I started to prepare for Christmas. I realized I didn't have any gifts and I needed two. One for Dad and one for Harry. I had absolutely no idea what to get them. I first had to secure the money, by asking to borrow it for Harry. I lied and said it was for gifts to Dad and Sophia. He had told me not to get anything for him.

But I would. Miriam got me catalogs and I had to pick gifts from there. I did the best I could, and I was pretty happy.

Harry got busy over the next few days visiting friends. Part of me was frustrated, but I knew he had to live his own life as well. And I knew he felt bad, because he would always bring me something fun. A book of puzzles, a gossip tabloid, just something little. It was unnecessary, but it did brighten my days.

And then, suddenly, it was Christmas Eve. All I had left was to endure a visit with Christopher. He was coming for lunch and bringing Sophia. That was what I was really excited about, getting to see my girl.

She was dressed up in a beautiful green dress and her hair was up in bows, and she was really happy to see me. She'd gotten over her cold and was good as new.

"Hello, Anna," Christopher said, giving me a hug. I loathed having physical contact with him like that.

"Hi, Christopher," I said. It was the first time I had seen him since he caught me with Harry.

"Unfortunately, I haven't got long to spend with you today. I just had a ton of work thrown at me and have to get it done before tomorrow. I'll be back on Boxing Day, though, and can spend more time. I just wanted to see you and give you a gift. I've got more for you, of course, but I hope you don't mind waiting until your memories return."

I didn't care. I would not be opening them anyways, for as soon as I got my memories back, I would be getting Sophia and leaving. It would probably be easier at night, and I was thankful for our separate bedrooms.

He produced a small box wrapped with shiny green paper. I knew it was jewelery. I tore the paper off and saw that it was a diamond necklace. The pendent has diamonds and sapphires. It was a very ostentatious necklace.

"I'm hoping you'll wear it for our wedding," he informed me.

"Oh," I said.

"I'll ask you again," he said. "You know, later."

"Thanks," I said, giving him a fake smile. It would just be easier to appease him, I realized. I didn't want him to get suspicious about anything.

He sat around about fifteen more minutes, telling me about their plans for Christmas and how he wished I could be there. He told me how much he missed 'the real me' and that I needed to rest up tomorrow.

"Getting your memories back tomorrow would be the greatest Christmas gift ever," he told me.

He went away after that, and I felt like I needed to take a shower. His cologne, though familiar, clung to my skin and made my eyes water. So I took a shower and got ready for Harry to pick me up. My bag was packed with pajamas and an outfit for tomorrow, along with the gifts I'd picked out for Harry and Dad. Harry was getting a scarf and leather gloves, and I'd gotten Dad a wallet. His had looked very worn the other day. They were lame gifts, but I'd tried my best.

I counted down the seconds until Harry would be there, and luckily, he was early. He had his own bag on his shoulders.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"I can't wait," I told him. "I have high expectations for the next twenty four hours."

"Anna, don't put too much pressure on them," he warned, as we left the ward. "Because then it will just fail miserably."

I just squeezed his hand. "You'll be there and my dad will be there and Christopher will have no idea. What could possibly go wrong?"

~.~

We apparated to Scotland, and it still made my head hurt, but I would rather be with Harry than Christopher. It was a little far, so Harry split it into two trips instead of one.

When we reached our final destination, I was surprised by just how much snow there was. "We've just got to walk about a quarter mile up this path," Harry said, grabbing my hand. He took out his wand and began to melt the snow in our path.

"Harry?" I asked, placing my second hand on his arm.

"Hmm?" he asked, not pulling his concentration from melting the snow.

"I'm so glad to be here with you," I admitted.

"Oh," he said, stopping. "Thanks, Anna."

"And you know how I feel about you," I said slowly as we began to walk again. "But I just wanted to say thank you. I'm so grateful that you're in my life right now, you're exactly what I need."

He leaned over and kissed my cheek. I looked up and could see Dad's cottage in the distance. There were lights on inside and smoke drifted out of the chimney. It was a cozy looking little house. **We made our way up the path Harry had made, his arm through mine**

Harry knocked on the door and Dad opened it. "Come in, come in," he said. He had a grin on his face and it was nice to know he was as happy about having us as I was happy to be there. "Good trip?" 

"Excellent," I said.

"Here, I'll show you to your rooms," he said. He lead us through the living room and up stairs. A fire was going in the living room and it was very homey.

Upstairs there were three bedrooms and a bathroom. I got the middle one, which was painted a light purple color. It was nice, there was even a vase of flowers on the bedside table. Dad came back after showing Harry to his room.

"Is it all right?" he asked.

"It's great," I told him. "Did you get the flowers yourself?"

"Oh, no. My housekeeper, Penny, was really excited to find out I had guests for the holidays. She's gone home to her family now, but she made soup before she left. She's a great cook, so how does chicken soup sound for dinner?"

"Sounds great," I told him.

"And I've got a roast to cook for tomorrow, Penny gave me the instructions, so I've got to do my best not to mess it up," he said.

I laughed, and stood up. "I'm so glad I'm here," I told him, giving him a hug.

**"You don't know how great is for me to have you here."** he said.

I just smiled. I dug the presents out of my bag and went downstairs so I could put them under the tree. Then I sat on the couch, enjoying the fire by myself for a few moments.

Harry came down the stairs and took a seat next to me. Dad came into the living room. "I'm just going to go get some wood for the fire before it gets too dark," he said.

"I can do it," Harry said, standing up. "Please, let me."

"I'll go with him," I offered.

"You be careful," Dad warned. "Please don't get hurt."

"I won't let her carry the wood." Harry said. We walked out the back and saw the wood pile. It was a short walk into the woods. We walked hand in hand down there, through the snow. Fat flakes of snow fell upon us, and I tried to catch one with my tongue.

When we got to the wood pile, he began to assemble a parcel to bring up. He could use magic to make it easier, of course, but wouldn't let me help.

I reached down into the snow and grabbed a handful, molding it into a nice ball. While his back was turned to me, I tossed it at him, and it hit him between the shoulders. Snow flew up and I knew his neck would be cold.

"Oy," he shouted, turned around. "We're going to do this?"

I took a handful of snow off a low branch and fashioned another ball. "Maybe," I said, grinning.

I tossed it at him and he didn't even try to dodge it. It hit him square in the chest, and I couldn't help but laugh.

He flicked his wand, and it sent snow flying up at me.

"Cheater!" I called, whipping snow at him. I wasn't very successful though, and the snow mostly dispersed through the air.

He walked towards me quickly and I had no where to go. I picked up a handful of snow to arm myself, but it melted in my hand because I held it so long. He got really close to me, and wrapped one arm around my waist. We were suddenly _so_ close, I was conscious of every breath. From here, I could see the true beauty of his bright green eyes and the stubble on his chin. He stared at me intensely.

I thought he might kiss me, and moved my face closer to his. My eyelids instinctively lowered.

A snowball hit me in the back, controlled by his wand, and it burst my moment.

"Mean," I said, frustrated with him. He just chuckled and returned to stacking the wood.

We trudged back up to the house, where Dad was warming up chicken soup. I was allowed to carry three pieces of wood up to my bedroom, as all the bedrooms had fireplaces and I would need it to keep me warm tonight.

By the time I went back downstairs, dinner was ready. Dad was right, the soup was delicious. I ate two full bowls of it. It was savory and warm and the ultimate winter food.

Then,after dinner, we settled in the living room. Dad had taken out a bottle of wine he said he'd been saving 'for a special occasion' and we each got a glass.

Harry and I played Exploding Snap while listening to a program on the radio. It was all about Christmas miracles, so it was rather cheesy, but I didn't mind. I liked listening to the upbeat stories, and Dad was talking to Harry as we played.

"Did Christopher stop by earlier?" Dad asked.

It seemed like so much time had passed since this morning. My meeting with Christopher felt like it happened last week. I was enjoying my time here so far, and it felt way better to be here. "Yes," I said. "He did. For about... maybe twenty minutes?"

"Didn't stay long," Harry observed.

"No. He told me he had work to do. I didn't mind," I said. "He just gave me a gift and talked for awhile."

"What did he give you?" Harry asked, leaning forward. He was curious.

"A necklace," I said. "For me to wear at the wedding."

Harry snorted. "He doesn't know what's going to hit him when he finds out you're leaving him," he said.

"I don't really care. As long as I have Sophia, he can do whatever he wants," I said, "Check."

Harry looked down at the chessboard and realized that while we had been talking, I'd managed to nearly win the game. "You're good!" he said, nodding.

Eventually, I got to say checkmate and the game was over.

"I'm going to go to bed," Dad announced when he had finished his second glass of wine. "You kids don't stay up too late."

"Goodnight, Dad," I called as he went upstairs.

We played another game of chess, which he won.

"How are you doing?" he asked softly.

"I'm fine," I told him. "I've said it before, I know, but I'm just so incredibly happy to be here with you two."

He smiled a small smile. "I'm happy to be here as well," he said. "I think it's a lot more enjoyable than playing the awkward game with the Weasleys. I would much rather be with you." 

I moved from the ground to next to him on the couch. The room was dark, as it was pitch dark outside. The only light came from the big fireplace in the center of the room. The flames and their shadows danced upon the walls and cast a warm, dynamic glow.

The radio program I had been listening to ended, and some soft music began to play. He offered his hand to me.

"What?" I asked.

"May I have this dance?" he asked. "That you're not being forced to do in front of one hundred and fifty people?"

I laughed, but stood up. "You may," I said.

He pulled me to the center of the room and wrapped an arm around my waist. I placed one hand around his neck and clasped the other in his hand. He pulled me pretty close to him, so we were nearly touching.

I could smell the soap smell that I had come to associate with him. Soap and a little bit of cologne, but not the foul kind I associated with Christopher.

After we spun around a few times, I got closer to him. I rested my head on his shoulder, feeling so very comfortable. He was so gentle and caring and just _lovely._

"You're a good dancer," he said.

"You're a good partner," I told him. This was the kind of relationship I wanted to have. I felt secure and happy and loved. We spent a few songs dancing.

I yawned.

"Tired?" he asked.

"A little," I admitted.

"You've had a long day," he said. "Going to bed?"

I nodded. "That was a lovely way to end the evening," I said. I picked up the wine glasses from the table and placed them in the sink while he cleaned up the chess board.

We walked upstairs together and he left me at my door. "Goodnight, Anna," he said, and he kissed me lightly on the lips.

"Night," I said, smiling. I went into my bedroom and put on pajamas. I did my best to light the fire and climbed into bed. It had been a really great day.

I nearly dozed off, when a memory tore through my brain.

_I placed my hand on my swelling stomach. It was not too big, I was probably four or five months along. I was in my suite at Christopher's._

_He came into the suite, probably just back from work. He was loostening his tie. "Hello," he said, giving me a kiss. _

"_Hello Christopher," I said. "How was work?"_

"Your father paid me a visit today," he said. "At work. It was very embarrassing."

"_I'm sorry," I said. "I... I don't know what to do about him."_

"_I took care of it," Christopher said, as he paced back and forth. _

"_Good," I said. "Thank you."_

"_I said he won't be seeing you anytime soon," he said._

_I stood up from the couch and gave him a kiss. "You're the best."_

I opened my eyes again and immediately sat up. That was a very disturbing memory to me. I would have a really hard time falling asleep now, and it was freezing because the fire had gone out.

I put on my dressing gown and slippers and went down the hallway. I knocked lightly on Harry's door, praying he was still awake. He opened the door. "What's the matter, Anna?"he asked. He didn't look like he'd been asleep.

"I just got a memory back,"I said.

"Oh," he said. "Come in."

I sat on his bed. It was nice and warm in here, the fire was going. He sat next to me. "It was awful," I told him.

"What did you see?" he asked.

"Christopher telling me he told my father he couldn't see me anymore. And I was _thanking_ him," I said. I felt disgusted and like I was dirty. My eyes burned with tears. "I can't do this."

"Can't do what?" he asked, concerned.

"I can't get my memories back. I hate her, this person I was. She's a terrible person and I don't want her to have a body again. I may not know my back story here, but at least I'm trying to do the right thing," I said. I was crying now, and I was sure I was completely unattractive, but he reached out and gave me a hug.

"It's going to be okay, Anna," he said, rubbing my back. "The fact that you realize what you've done has been wrong and you want to change it, that's a great sign! You're going to change your life around. I believe it."

"But what if I don't?" I asked. "I'm not her. But she's starting to fade back into me, I can feel it. I felt good the other day when I ordered Connie to leave and she left. I'm afraid I'm going to get my memories back and forget all about this life I want. I'll go back to being a carefully orchestrated puppet and I'm afraid."

"Shh," he soothed. "Your father and I won't let that happen. I promise you, if it's the last thing I do, I will get you out of that house."

"Thank you," I said. He let me cry and eventually I started to calm down.

"Here, why don't you just lay down? Everything will be better in the morning," he said.

"Stay with me," I said, not wanting to let go of my grip on him. He nodded.

I drifted off to sleep, only to be plagued by a dream.

_I'm in a long hallway. The walls are wood panel, and the floor squeaks as my feet pass over it. It's familiar, but I can't place it. _

_I can feel myself panicking. The panic grows within me. I don't know where I am. I'm not in control of my body. I just want to get out of here._

_I spot a door to my left, and open it. On the other side, a bright overwhelming light beams out. It makes my head hurt._

I opened my eyes, and found the headache was not part of the dream. I sat up, and my back was sore.

Where was I and why the _hell_ was Harry Potter asleep next to me?

Author's Note: I think a lot of you wanted her to get her memories back, well, there you go! Haha, kind of evil with the cliffhanger, I know. What do you think's going to happen now? Anyways, tons of thanks for the help with this chapter, potter-reading-coastie. Let me know what you all think!


	13. Chapter 13

I got up, quickly. I didn't know where I was but I needed to go. This was wrong. I grabbed a bathrobe off the floor. I didn't even know if it was mine. I didn't know where I was.

"Anna?" a voice said. I turned around and Harry Potter was putting on his glasses. I bolted, through the door. I ran down the hallway and downstairs. Downstairs was good, I thought, it was closer to out. "Anna!"

I could hear him coming behind me but I had to get away from him. How had we ended up here? At the bottom of the stairs, luckily, there was a door.

"Annie?" another voice called. If someone was calling me Annie, that meant-

My father. I turned around and saw him, and threw open the door. Where the _hell _was I?

"Annie! Come back!" he yelled, but I'd taken off into the snow. There was a path, so I followed it. I hadn't even thought to put on shoes, so I swore as my toes began to freeze. There had to be an apparition point around here somewhere.

"Anna, you come back here!" Harry was yelling now. He was chasing me and he was gaining room. _He _had shoes on.

My chest burned from running, which was slowing me down. Why was I so out of shape? I pressed onwards, but knew I would be in pain later. "Go away!" I shouted. "Just leave me alone!"

I knew he was gaining distance over me, but I also saw an apparition point up ahead. I just needed to get there and I knew I would be okay. He grabbed my shoulder, and I elbowed him in the face.

He yelled in pain, and fell to the ground. As I reached the pole, I concentrated on home.

I did the best I could, but felt like I splinched a little hair. Upon bringing my hand up to my hair, a lot of hair was gone, but it was uniform. Not like splinching, which would make it uneven. When had I cut my hair?

I ran up to the house. Judging by the placement of the sun, it was very early morning. I couldn't even recall what day it was. As I reached the door, I began to bang on it. "Hello!" I called. I knew someone was up, even if it was just staff. "Open up!"

The door opened, and Roger stood there. I'd never been so happy to see Christopher's butler in my life. "Miss Anna!" he called in surprise. "What are you-?"

I went in past him, because I was frozen. I ran up the stairs, looking for Christopher. He was probably still in his suite. When I got to it, I didn't even bother knocking, I just barged in. He sat on his couch, drinking a cup of tea with a newspaper in his hand. "Christopher!" I said.

"Anna?" he asked. "What- what are you doing here?" He put down his tea and came to me. I threw myself at him and began to cry. I was so confused and shaken.

"What's going on?" I asked through my sobs. "I'm so confused. I woke up in a bed with Harry Potter and then saw my father and then I ran through the snow to apparate here."

"You _what_?" he asked, his voice sharp. I knew he would be angry about it, but I just kept crying.

"My head hurts so badly," I said.

"You don't even have shoes on," he pointed out. "What are you doing out of the hospital?"

I shook my head.

"Here, come on. I'm calling Grace to get you shoes and we're going to the hospital," he said.

Ten minutes later, I had mostly stopped crying and was wearing slippers and a thick coat. Christopher ushered me to the apparition point. He took us back to the hospital, and part of what happened came back to me.

I'd been here before. I had been in an accident at work and ended up here. That was why I was out of shape and why my knee now throbbed in pain. I'd had amnesia and didn't remember anything. Miriam, my mediwitch, escorted me into my room while Christopher and the Healer exchanged heated words.

Hearing them argue just caused my headache to hurt worse, and I curled up on the bed. There was no way to escape the terrible pain that seared through my head. Miriam brought me a pain potion, and it did help. Eventually, Christopher came back in and sat beside me on my bed. He stroked my hair as I cried again.

I didn't really know why I was crying, but I was so upset. I'd lost so much time and everything had fallen to shit.

"I'm so glad to have you back," he told me.

The Healer came in and wanted to talk to Christopher outside. I could hear loud voices, and I knew my father was there. The whole situation this morning made me want to throw up. I grabbed the trash bucket that was sitting in the corner and heaved.

I could hear my father call Christopher a monster before I threw up again. I was just so upset over everything that had happened so far today.

Miriam came back in and helped me get cleaned up. "I'm going to help you pack up and get ready to go home, okay?" she asked.

I nodded, unable to say much of anything. I watched as she folded my clothing and things and put them in a suitcase.

"Happy Christmas, Anna," she said. "You were a lovely patient to have and I'm glad you'll get to spent Christmas with your family."

"Thank you," I managed to say, though my voice was shaking. I couldn't believe it was Christmas! I'd missed so much. I knew she wouldn't remember it, but what struck me the most, was that I'd missed Sophia's first Christmas Morning.

Christopher came back in and helped escort me back home. It sure did look like Christmas, as the staff buzzed around getting ready for the big family dinner. Christopher didn't say anything about my father and I didn't have the strength to bring it up. I was frozen and shaking.

"May I stay in bed today?" I asked him.

"It's Christmas, Anna," he said.

"I can't even stand up straight," I said quietly. Tears threatened to spill over. I knew how much he hated that, and though I wasn't faking them, I could use them to my advantage.

"If you must," he said. He brought me up to my room, where Grace had drawn me a bath. Before he let me go into the bathroom, he took my face in his hands. "Having you back is the greatest Christmas present ever."

He kissed me lightly. I didn't react at all, though. I took a bath and began to cry again by myself. This time, I cried until my tears dried up. After that, I just felt so incredibly numb.

I was lost and listless in my own body. I examined my hair with a mirror and saw that a good chunk of hair had been cut off. It didn't look too bad, but I guessed Christopher was not pleased. He always preferred me with longer hair. It was more sophisticated and feminine.

The memories of my time with amnesia were foggy and it hurt to think too hard about them. I put on my silk nightgown and laid down in my bed. It was cushy and soft, supportive of my sore body. My feet still tingled from frostbite.

I fell asleep and was thankful to not suffer any dreams. When I woke up, everything hurt. It was dinnertime, and Grace brought me a tray of the Christmas dinner. The roast, potatoes, and vegetables smelled revolting, and I couldn't eat. I was too afraid I would throw up.

At least I knew Christopher would not ask me to go and have dinner with his family. I was not dressed and definitely not presentable.

I asked Grace for a sleeping potion after that, and fell asleep for a long time.

~.~

Upon waking up, I discovered I was in worse pain than I had been when I went to sleep. Everything hurt, from my toe nails to the roots of my hair ached deeply.

"Hot chocolate?" Grace asked, coming into my bedroom. She drew the shades and I shied away from the bright light of morning.

"I'm in terrible pain," I croaked. My throat felt like it was on fire.

"Would you like me to ring a Healer?" she asked.

"Yes," I said. "Please shut the blinds."

She did as I asked. About twenty minutes later, Christopher came in with a Healer. He examined me, but didn't give me any good news.

"She has the flu," he said. "Nothing I can give you. Drink lots of fluids and sleep a lot. I can give you potions for cough and sleeping aides, but other than that, you'll just have to wait for it to pass."

I knew it would be a good five days or more before I would feel good, and for that time, I would basically be quarantined in my room. Christopher would come visit me for awhile at night, but he wouldn't get too close. He could not get sick and take that time off work.

And Sophia was kept out of my rooms too, to prevent her from getting ill.

On my fifth day of illness, I finally felt well enough to sit up and eat some food. It was only chicken soup, and it wasn't very good, but it was better than the ice cubes and gelatin. I knew I'd lost weight, and bet that would make Christopher happy. His concern over my weight was the reason I was in this mess.

"I found this in your stuff, it might be good entertainment while you're sick," Grace said, handing me a book of number puzzles. I had no idea where it came from, but she was right. It kept me entertained all afternoon.

The next day I finally felt good enough to get up and take a shower without nearly fainting in pain. I had under appreciated the power of a good, hot shower. I was still getting used to my new appearance, short hair but I kind of liked it. When I weighed myself, I discovered I weight eight pounds less than I had the morning before the accident. Christopher would be very happy, but I was indifferent.

Although I was getting better from the flu, my general feeling of malaise had not left. I had no feelings either... everything was very numb. I felt like I could lie in bed for hours and not have any problem with it.

When Christopher visited that night, he told me he expected me to come to breakfast and dinner with him tomorrow. "You've been back here over a week and I still have hardly seen you," he complained.

"I've been sick!" I croaked. Although I was definitely getting better, the crackling voice lingered.

"I know," he said. "But I miss you, Anna. I would like to be able to see my fiancé again. It's been four weeks since things have been normal around here. I need you by my side."

I nodded. "Fine," I said. "But no guests, okay? I may be getting better, but I'm not up to getting dressed up."

"We have guests coming in three days," he said. "The French ambassador and his wife."

"All right," I said. The next morning I did as he requested. I got dressed and joined him for a seven o'clock breakfast. My appetite was beginning to return, and I ate eggs and toast.

"I'm glad you're feeling better," he told me.

"Me as well," I said.

"It's your father's fault you became sick in the first place," he said. "If you hadn't been running through the woods of Scotland barefoot through two feet of snow, you wouldn't have been in bed for a week."

I just blinked at him. Anytime he brought up my father, I got really nauseous and I had no idea why.

"Ah, well, the Minister beckons," he said. He came over and gave me a kiss before leaving.

After breakfast, I spent some time with Sophia. It kind of amazed me that I was able to spend a week inside the house and not see her once. I felt like she'd grown so much since before my accident. She was walking now, though she still wobbled a bit. She was incredibly happy to see me, which roused one of the first strong emotions I'd had since my memories returned. _Love._

Her silly laugh and how she softly said "Mama" was so endearing.

Connie returned to my room after we had been together for about an hour and a half. We were lying in my bed, snuggled up, as I read her a book.

"You're very hands on today, Anna," she said. Annoyance burnt through me. _Ah, another emotion_, I thought.

"What can I say?" I asked, picking Sophia up and blowing a raspberry on her stomach. "I missed my daughter."

The day passed slowly. I had nothing really to look forward to, though Grace gave me a dress to wear to dinner. I got dressed like Christopher wanted and went downstairs to meet him for dinner.

Throughout dinner he told me about the New Years Eve party we would have for the French Ambassadors tomorrow. I did not care one bit, but pretended to listen as I ate a little chicken.

"My publicist will be here tomorrow morning," he told me. "And he would like to meet with you at ten o'clock for tea."

I nodded. "All right," I said. After dinner, he took my arm and walked me upstairs.

"Spend the night in my room?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

I took that as a cue to begin coughing my lung up. **I didn't know why but, **I did not want to go, but **also, **did not want to piss him off by rejecting him.

"Maybe tomorrow, actually," he said. "You need another day to recoup."

"Have a nice night," I bid him.

I took a hot bath and settled in bed with my number puzzle book. I'd nearly finished it, with only a handful of pages left to complete.

My eyes grew heavy and I knew it was time for bed. I opened the draw of my bedside table to store the book for the night, and found a small journal.

It was vaguely familiar to me, and I picked it up. I opened it up and read the first page. It was in my own handwriting,

_My name is Anna Greenwood._

_I am twenty three years old._

This was the journal that I had kept during my bought with amnesia, and within it were very dangerous things.

Author's Note: Things are getting interesting! Totally wrote this by accident last night... I meant to write an update for Tomorrow but this just came out :) Thanks so much for all the support. I'll get to the reviews tonight. Thanks a ton, potter-reading-coastie for your help. Let me know what you all think!


	14. Chapter 14

The journal was full of things that I knew, but weren't at the front of my mind. Until I'd started to read, the memories from these weeks were foggy. They were sort of like a dream, that I couldn't quite remember all the details.

It was all in my handwriting, and undeniably things I had wanted to remember now. I couldn't believe it.

Shocking things were written on these pages and I found myself tearing up at the memories they brought back. I had visited with my father, and he had come back in my life. It had been something I had been wanting for awhile, and I was so glad it happened.

I wonder if I had ruined everything when I stormed out on Christmas day. Probably, I thought.

And as I read through the journal, memories of Harry Potter came back to me.

He had been such a positive influence on my life. He was the one in charge of my father and I reconnecting. He'd brought me fun and happiness. I had very nearly fallen in love with him.

And reading the words I wrote had brought up all those feelings. I had hurt him, Christmas day, when I tried to get away from him. Emotionally and Physically. I'd hit him in the face with my elbow, and probably given him a black eye. And I could still remember his voice calling my name, the pain so evident.

Finally, I came to the last page of the journal. It seemed like a letter.

_If you're reading this now, I seriously hope you are not in Christopher's house. This journal is full of information that is all telling you to get out. Christopher is a monster and you need to escape. Take Sophia and run away. Go to a hotel, go to Dad's, or try and find Harry. Just do something that will get you out of there._

_Make sure you have your wand and a key to your vault at Gringott's. Those are the most important things to have, other than Sophia. Get clothing if you can, but you have more than enough money in Gringott's to take care of things for awhile._

_Please just get out of there. If you don't, you will live a miserable life. Everything you do will be scrutinized. Every ounce you gain will be criticized by Christopher. You won't get to raise your daughter. It is not worth it. Get yourself out._

My heart beat wildly and I felt a little dizzy. I tried to make sense of all this information. Most of it was stuff that I had known for... well, months, but tried to tuck away. And here it was, compiled in front of me and impossible to ignore.

After thinking about it for far too long, I decided I had something new on my agenda for tomorrow. I needed to get out of here.

~.~

I woke up earlier than usual, and examined my bedroom. It was a pale pink color, with ivory and gold accents. It was all beautiful, but crazy. My room was full of useless junk that I had no need for. And really, it would only be my room for a few more hours.

I was beginning to formulate the plan in my head. I could definitely not leave while Christopher was here. He wouldn't let me leave without a huge fight that I was not brave enough to wage. I would have to leave when the only people here were staff. They would try and talk me out of it, I knew, but I would win.

I knew I had to eat breakfast with Christopher and meet with his publicist after. Meanwhile, Christopher would run to his office and check on the state of things there. That bought me possibly three hours. More than enough time to make my escape.

But first, I got dressed. If I acted out of normal in any way, I knew it would be called out and that much harder to leave. I took a deep breath before I went down, trying to stay calm and in control.

He was waiting for me at breakfast.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," I said, as I sat down. I fixed myself toast and promptly began to eat. I used the current jam that I had always loved. It was so sweet.

"Are you feeling all right?" he asked a look of concern on his face.

"Yes," I told him.

"Good," he said. "It's going to be a long day, so you may want to rest this afternoon. We're expecting guests at six for cocktails and we'll be up until at least one in the morning. Is that all right?"

I nodded, not speaking because my mouth was full of toast.

"Great. Marni will be over this afternoon with your dress for tonight. I should be home in a few hours. Matthew Shriver should be here in about an hour, he won't be here long. Just a few questions to go over, it should be easy enough for you to handle without me being there."

Acting normal was getting tougher; I hoped he would leave soon. "I'll be fine," I said willing my newly re-found emotions down.

"All right," he said.

"Anyways, I've got to get going. The sooner I leave, the sooner I'll get back. I'll see you later," he said, quickly coming over to kiss me before leaving. I kissed him for the last time.

I watched him leave, until I could only faintly hear his shoes on the floor, and then until that faded away. It was the last time he would ever walk away from me in this house.

I said good morning to Sophia, and scouted out her room. I wanted to make sure I grabbed her baby book and memory box, as they were the most important things for her. I picked them up, and Connie came in the room.

"What are you doing with those?" she asked.

"I'm just going to bring them to my room to look at them," I told her. "I can't remember the last time I looked at them."

She stared at me, but I just shrugged. "Fine," she sighed.

"My baby is growing up so quickly... I just want to reminisce about when she was tiny," I explained.

I went into my room and Grace was putting away clean clothing for me.

"Grace," I said. "Would you mind leaving?"

"All right," she said. "I will be downstairs if you need me."

As soon as she was gone and I was sure she'd walked down the staircase, I went into my closet. I pulled out the biggest suitcase I could find. It was one I bought before we went to Paris last year, and would hold more than enough things. I stuck Sophia's things at the bottom, and began to pile clothing on top of them. I started by taking just the clothing that I had bought myself, but realized Christopher had no use for these clothes. They would just get thrown out if I left them here.

I stuck my journal in the top, along with my Gringott's key. My wand stayed on me, just in case I should need it. Then, the suitcase went back into the closet so no one would see it.

It was nearing ten o'clock, but I did not go downstairs yet. I checked on Sophia, who had just gone down for her morning nap. She looked so beautiful asleep, and I hoped she would sleep through our departure.

After that, I went downstairs to see Matthew. He was a portly man, probably about sixty. He was friends with Christopher's parents and that was how he had come to work with Christopher.

"Anna," he said, as I came downstairs. "Lovely to see you're feeling better."

I put on the fake smile that he would be expecting. "Thank you," I said as I approached him. I followed him into the parlor at the front of the house. Tea and scones were waiting for us in there, as we sat down at a table set up in front of the fire.

"How are you today?" he asked.

"Well," I said. "And yourself?"

"Very well, indeed. Just a few things to go over today," he said. "The Daily Prophet would like to have a few questions answered. I offered an interview but they declined, they're writing an article about the whole accident. I've talked to both the Auror Department and the Prophet, the accident is being projected as simply an accident."

I nodded. They would not go into the details, about how I'd been nearly starving myself. "Good," I said.

"It is. And Witch Weekly would like to set up an interview with you for sometime next week. You've been voted the fourth best woman of the year and want to talk about how you still managed to look fabulous even though you were ill this season."

"Of course," I said.

"I set a preliminary date for Tuesday at noon, if that works for you," he said.

I would not be here Tuesday, and would definitely not be showing up to the interview. So naturally, I said that was a great time and I couldn't wait.

"Wonderful," he said. "Unfortunately... they're also likely to question you on another topic."

"Oh?" I asked, curious to why his tone had shifted from light to serious.

"Connie's sister, Bridget, had a little too much to drink last weekend while she was out and spilled a few things to the press that we would rather she hadn't."

"What?" I asked. I could tell he was dancing around the subject, and whatever it was, I wanted to know. I had a feeling I wasn't going to like it.

"Some rumors about Connie and Christopher. They were a couple, once, long ago, as you know," he said.

I nodded. "Mmhm. What exactly did Bridget say?" I asked.

"Just that there might still be some romance going on behind the scenes here," he said. He leaned in to me, and whispered "Nothing as bad as what is going on here for real, as both you and I know. But alas, you must dispute them with authority on Tuesday."

I suddenly felt sick to my stomach, and rather stupid. I was not a stupid person, but I'd been incredibly stupid about the situation between Connie and Christopher. For years, he had always denied anything was going on between them. And I had believed him. But subconsciously, I'd known he was feeding me lies. But I knew that if I questioned that, I would be in trouble.

Well, I didn't care much about him anymore, and I realized that I was not the only one Christopher was in a relationship with. I started to cold sweat and felt nauseous. I shouldn't have been that ill, I thought, but it was something rooted deep inside my mind. I wanted to leave Christopher on my own terms, and if I did not act quickly I might not be able to.

"I see," I said, quietly. "Is there anything else? I'm feeling a little ill. I think it's just a final wave of the flu."

"Well, I was going to go over how you might handle the interview Tuesday, but you've always done spectacularly well at interviews, so I could just write you and give you some pointers. If you're feeling ill it's of utmost importance that you get some rest."

"Thank you, Matthew," I said, and I showed him out. I double checked that my suitcase was still in my closet and packed, and sat down at my desk to write the hardest letter I would have to write.

_Dear Christopher,_

_I'm leaving. I've played this game for far too long and I'm sick of it. I've been a pawn of yours for four years and I will never get that time back out of my life. You've driven my father and I apart. You kept me from my true friends. You were like a drug to me. No matter how much I loathed what I had to do for you, or how much your family did not approve of me, I dealt with it because I wanted your approval. That is wrong and sick. You are a monster, and the reason that I got hurt last month. You're the reason I spent weeks with no memories and hurt my knee._

_The only good thing that came out of our relationship was Sophia, who I am taking with me. I will not subject her to the horrible life that she would lead if she grows up here._

_Enjoy your relationship with_ _your second (or is it first? I can't tell you that I care) choice_ _Connie!_

_Anna_

I read it over once, and sealed it with wax from the candle. It was not an easy decision to make, and I did feel sad. I was leaving the world that had engulfed the last four years of my life. I was leaving a staff that had taken care of my every need. Familiarity was something I had here, even if it was a bizarre form. From here on out, my life had so many possibilities.

And I couldn't wait.

I took the envelope, and walked, quietly, to Christopher's suite. I left it on his own desk, next to a picture of Sophia and I. Then, trying to keep myself calm, I walked back to my suite.

Grace was there, with a tray for lunch. That made things so much more complicated. "I heard you were coming to rest, so I brought your lunch to you," she said. "Are you all right? Shall I call the Healer?"

"No, thank you, Grace," I said, walking towards my closet.

"What are you doing, Anna?" she asked, getting closer.

"You've been a great assistant, Grace," I said. "Thank you."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, getting closer to me. I wheeled my suitcase out and shrunk it so it would be easier to carry.

"I'm leaving," I told her.

"No, Anna," she said. "You're not. Calm down. Think about this rationally. Do not do this."

"I have no life here, Grace," I said, starting to get annoyed with her. "I need to have a better life for Sophia and myself. She has no chance here. I have no chance here. Thank you."

I strolled past her, through the door. Luckily, Sophia's room was between me and the door. She was still asleep in her crib when I picked her up and held her close, before making my way down the stairs.

"Where do you think you're going?" Connie yelled, tearing up the stairs toward me.

Just seeing her ignited anger within me. I would not be able to be nice to her if she tried to talk me out of it. "I'm leaving, thanks," I said. "If you'll just step aside, I'll be on my way."

"Don't you dare," she said slowly and menacingly.

"I don't know why you're so concerned, Connie," I said. "Wouldn't I just be freeing up the space for you? I mean, really, I'm just in the way right now."

"But-" she sputtered. "You-"

"Aren't supposed to know about that? Yeah..." I sighed. It felt good to be able to best her like this.

I noticed that quite a few members of the staff had gathered around the base of the stairs, listening.

"But- how-"

I cut her off. "Matthew Shriver let it slip during our meeting this morning," I said. "You know what Connie, I don't even care right now. You worked for me, took care of my _daughter_, all while, what, going behind my back and having an affair with my fiance? That's... you must be so proud. Enjoy being the one he settles for."

She was absolutely speechless, and I couldn't help but smirk. I walked the rest of the stairs with my head up, and Roger even opened the door for me.

"Goodbye, Miss Anna," he said, with a bit of a smile on his face. I smiled back at him.

Nodding goodbye to him, I ran down the path to the apparition point. I had to get out of here before someone sent for Christopher.

My heart beat wildly with excitement. My life was once again mine, and I had so many things to do! The very first step, however, was to get to my father's house and make amends.

Author's Note: Here's chapter 14! What do you think? Lots of credit to my betas potter-reading-coastie and karmonblake- thanks guys! You rock! I have a favor to ask of my readers. PLEASE, go to my website (link on my profile page) and fill out the short polls there. It will mean a lot to me! I know the site gets a lot of hits, so please help me out. Let me know what you think of the chapter. Thanks!


	15. Chapter 15

I knew apparition would wake Sophia up because it would bother her ears, but it was the only way out of there. She had never traveled by apparition before, just by Flooing.

As we landed in Scotland, she started to cry. "Shh..." I soothed her. "It's okay, Sophia. I'm here."

I really needed three hands to get anything done. I needed one to hold Sophia, one to carry the suitcase, and one to melt the snow. I juggled it the best I could, but the suitcase ended up getting dragged through the snow a bit. Sophia's cries eventually subsided, but it was going to be a long walk.

"Almost there," I told her. "Then you get to meet your Grandpa."

As I got closer to the house, the path was more evident. Someone had come out here and done something about the snow, thankfully.

Lights were on in the house, and smoke rose out of the chimney. I started to get nervous though, after I knocked on the door and began to wait. Dad had forgiven me amazingly easily the first time around, but would he be so forgiving the second time?

I knocked again, thinking maybe he hadn't heard me, and I didn't want to stand out here much longer. It was too cold.

The door opened, but Dad wasn't standing there. It was a tall woman with curly hair. It must have been his housekeeper. "Anna?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yes," I said. "You must be Penny."

She nodded. "You father is not here right now," she told me. "He's just gone to visit with a friend, but he should be back soon. Why don't you come in?"

"Thanks," I said, coming in. I left my suitcase by the front door and started to cast some drying spells on it.

"Your father's told me a bit about your situation," she said.

"I've left my fiance," I told her.

"Oh. Well, your father will be pleased to hear it. He should be back within the hour... would you like to warm up by the fire in the living room? I could get you some coffee or tea..."

"Hot chocolate?" I asked.

"Of course. Anything for your daughter?" she asked.

I shook my head. Sophia had fallen back to sleep on my shoulder. "She's fine for now, thank you," I said. I went and sat on the couch near the fireplace. It brought back the memory of dancing with Harry here and I smiled. That was a happy memory.

She brought me hot chocolate and I sat by the fire for awhile. I was pleased with myself and excited that I'd made it. And I felt safe here, Christopher had no idea where my father lived. I wondered if he had found out yet.

Being here, relaxed and cozy by the fire, it would have been very easy to fall asleep. But I knew Sophia would be awake soon and Dad would be home and I wanted to stay awake for them.

The Floo began to rattle about forty minutes after I got there, and a minute later Dad came through it.

"Annie," he said, looking surprised at my presence. "I-"

I stood up. "I've left Christopher," I announced.

"Oh my God," he said, engulfing me in a hug. "I'm... this is wonderful. I'm so happy for you,"

"And this is Sophia," I said.

He smiled at her. "She looks so much like you, Annie," he said. "Hold on, just let me go hang up my coat. I'll have Penny warm up some chicken soup."

The fact that he seemed really pleased to have me there was a good sign, I thought. I sat back down on the couch and waited. He hung up his coat and returned five minutes later with three bowls of soup. "I'm go glad you're here. I thought I lost you again."

I shook my head. "For a few days, yeah," I said. "But now it's done. I left him a letter and ran away." I couldn't help smiling as I thought of the look on his face when he read it.

He laughed. "Christopher's going to be so pissed," he said. I could tell he was really pleased which was just feeding into my own happiness. "So... what happened? Why did you tear out of here on Christmas like that?"

"I woke up and I was confused," I explained. "I'd just gotten all of my memories back and I felt disgusting. I woke up next to Harry, so I was so confused, and I didn't know where I was. I was transplanted back into my old mindset. So I was terrified of seeing you and I just bolted. I had to go away and of course the first thing I did was go to Christopher."

"You were terrified of me?" he asked. The look on his face reminded me of the pain I caused and I hated seeing it. I would never do it to him again.

I nodded. "I knew the situation with you was wrong on my part, but if I didn't think about it or see you, I wasn't faced with it. It made me sick to my stomach when I thought about it... I was just so terrible," I explained. "And when I got back to Christopher, he was mostly just enraged by the fact I had left the hospital without his consent."

"Oh, yes," Dad said. "I went to the hospital, hoping I'd be able to sort of reclaim you. Not that you're property, just... I felt like if you were with him during that time you would be lost forever."

"I heard him yelling," I admitted. "I think it would have been really easy for me to just... stay there. I was really sick for a few days, I had the flu."

"No wonder," he said. "You walked through the snow barefoot!" His teasing nature was a good sign; I could only hope things would go this easily with Harry.

I shrugged. "And so I was sick for a few days. And then last night, I found the diary I had kept during my time at the hospital. I read it all last night. The memories of that time were really foggy, but once I read them I could remember them really well. I remember our visit in the hospital where you told me about my childhood and I remember walking around London with Harry looking for a Christmas tree for our ward. And then this morning... that was the last straw. I had to meet with Christopher's publicist who let it slip to me that Connie and Christopher's relationship was not quite as over as Christopher had been telling me."

"Oh my God..." he said. "That bastard has been cheating on you too? He better hope I never run into him alone."

"Dad," I groaned, laughing. But his protectiveness was good.

"I know, I know. So you just left a letter and bolted?" he grinned from ear to ear.

"Pretty much," I said. "I want to start my new life now. I came here because I really wanted to make amends with you first."

"Thank you," he said. "Harry and I thought we might have lost you forever."

"How is he?" I asked, concerned. I bet he would be less forgiving than Dad, though I hoped I was wrong. I knew he was hurt worse.

"He's..." Dad trailed off. "Okay. I saw him a few days ago. I think he's just really bummed. That bloke really fancies you..."

"He's next on my list," I said. "I think I will go visit him tomorrow."

He nodded. "I think that's a good idea," he told me. "I'll watch Sophia if you'd like. Speaking of my granddaughter, let me see her."

I handed her to him. "Here she is. Sophia Camille Marie."

"If my eye sight was any worse, I'd think she was you, Annie. The only difference is that she doesn't have our blue eyes," he said. "She's gorgeous." Watching them together was a really heart warming feeling

"Thank you," I said.

"Oh, and you gave Harry a pretty good black eye fending him off Christmas morning. I was a little impressed you had that much force in you," he commented.

"I turned back into Auror defense mode," I said. "I don't think I could do it now. Is he all right? I didn't break his nose or anything, did I?"

"He's fine," Dad said. "So where are you staying?"

I took a deep breath. I didn't want to inconvenience him, but I really wanted to stay here. "Would you let me stay here?" I asked. "Just for a few days while I figure out what I'm doing. I've got enough money to go find an apartment, but I just need a few days first. Not even a week, just somewhere that Christopher doesn't know how to get to so I can wait that out," I explained.

"Stay as long as you need," he said. "I'm just so happy you've finally gotten out of that house. I've got two spare bedrooms, one for you and one for her."

"We'll share one room," I told him. "I'm not too keen on her being out of my sight for that long yet. I know Christopher's not going to be pleased about this and he doesn't always play fair."

He nodded. "When you get your own place, I'll set up the same security wards I've got. Or Harry can, I'm sure he knows even better ones."

"He lives in a Muggle area," I said. "I'm not sure he's got so much to worry about there."

"True," he said. "You can go set up, upstairs. I've got Sophia."

I went upstairs and unpacked all the things I had brought with me. I hadn't thought to grab as much clothing for Sophia as I probably should have, and would need to shop for her in the next few days. The night was spent settling in, and Dad got to know Sophia.

By the time it was nine o'clock, I was exhausted. I had gotten so much accomplished today, and I dubbed it a successful first day of my new life.

I slept great, probably due to being exhausted. I was mentally preparing to see Harry, and I knew it would be hard. I tried to think of what I would say to him, but I didn't know what he was feeling. There were too many unknowns. Was he sad? Was he angry? Would he forgive me as easily as Dad had?

I only had one way to find out.

I wanted to wait until after Sophia woke up from her morning nap to go. I was afraid she would freak out if she woke up from a nap somewhere she didn't really recognize and I wasn't there. I realized she had spent much of her time away from me and would probably be okay with it, but I wanted to make sure.

Once she and Dad were all set, he gave me Harry's address, and I set out. I had a few stops to make on the way.

~.~

An hour later, I was standing in front of his door. It was on the fourth floor of an apartment building in London, near a park. I was nervous, as I stood at the door building up courage to ring the doorbell.

I knew it was a possibility he would open the door and refuse to see me, but I needed to do this anyways. I pushed the white button, and could hear the ring sound through the apartment.

"Who is it?" Harry's voice asked from the other side of the door. I looked up at the peephole.

"It's Anna," I said. "Please let me in, Harry."

"What do you want?"

"I just want to talk," I explained to him. "Please. Let me just explain what's happened and if you still want me to leave, I will leave. I brought a pizza."

My heart was racing as I waited for him. Eventually, I heard the door lock click and it opened. He stood on the other side.

He didn't look great. It was eleven o'clock in the morning, but he was still in his pajamas. His hair stuck up all over the place, even more than usual. I brought my eyes up to his and admired his black eye. Over a week later, it was still dark.

"Hello," I said quietly, going in and shutting the door. His apartment was nice. I walked straight into the kitchen and dining room, and placed the pizza on the table. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No," he said. "I woke up about fifteen minutes ago. It was New Years Eve last night."

That explained why he wasn't moving so quickly. "Went out with your mates?" I asked.

He nodded. "Just went to the Leaky Cauldron for a few drinks," he explained.

"Plates?" I asked.

"Cabinet over the sink to the left," he said. I took out two plates and handed him one, before getting my own piece of pizza. He walked into the living room, which was the next room over. I grabbed one of my other bags and brought it with me.

"I'm sorry about your eye," I told him. He was making me nervous, but hadn't told me to leave yet.

He shrugged.

"I know you're... angry. Or upset. Something not good and I really want to know what."

"I'm angry," he said, slowly. I could tell he was doing his best to restrain it, but it was about to all spill out.

"At me," I said.

He pursed his lips in thought. "At myself. At Christopher. At the situation. A little at you."

"Why are you angry at yourself?" I asked, confused. "You've done nothing wrong."

"I haven't?" he asked. "I've nearly fallen in love with someone who doesn't really exist!"

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Who doesn't exist?"

"The Anna that I want to exist," he said. "The real Anna came back. I told myself not to fancy you. I knew it couldn't possibly end well for anyone. But I did and now I'm hurt and I hate it."

He was being amazingly honest with me and I appreciated it. I hated that I hurt him, because he really did not deserve that. "You deserve better," I told him. "But... she's not all gone, the Anna that you love. She was for awhile, but she's back now."

"How do I know that?" he asked.

"I left Christopher," I told him.

His jaw dropped a little. "You're right then," he said after a moment's pause.

"I was gone for awhile, I got really sick after Christmas. But then two days ago I found my journal and I saw what I wrote about you and Dad and Christopher and I knew I had to leave. Then yesterday, I found out that Christopher and Connie were having an affair and I just left. I'm at my father's for a few days and I"m going to find my own place."

He very nearly smiled and I grinned. "See? I told you I was back!"

He nodded. "I'm so happy for you," he said. "You got Sophia? Where is she?"

"Dad's watching her," I explained. "But I got her. I got to yell at Connie on my way out too."

He actually smiled this time. "I'm sorry I doubted you."

I shook my head. "Don't worry," I said. "I deserve it."

"He let you go?"

"I wrote a letter," I said. "I'm a coward but that was the only way I could do it."

"Not cowardly, smart," he said. "It's so nice to have you back."

I smiled. "It's so lovely to be here," I told him.

We ate the pizza together until there was only one slice left. It was delicious and he was starving. I was just so happy that he wanted me there. The conversation had taken a turn for the better. "What's in the other bag?" he asked.

"I believe I owe you a bathrobe," I told him. "I stole yours Christmas and I'm pretty sure it got thrown away. I got one as close to the last kind as possible, I'm sorry."

He examined it, the plain bathrobe. "I think it will do," he said. "Thank you, Anna."

"Thank _you_, Harry," I told him.

"You're not expecting us to begin dating right away, are you?" he asked.

That was what I had wanted, but now that we had talked, it was unreasonable. "Well," I said. "Not right away."

"Good," he said. "Because there's a whole new facet of you I need to get to know. And there's a whole new facet of you that probably still hates me."

"Hate is a strong word," I said. "I don't hate you. I fancy you, but... I think agreeing to get to know each other better is a good idea."

"We could go apartment shopping for you together later this week?" he asked, looking hopeful.

"That sounds like a great idea to me," I told him. "I can't wait."

I hung around for a few more minutes, but eventually new I did have to go shopping for Sophia and Harry needed to shower and get ready for the day.

"I'll see you out," he said. "Thank you for the pizza."

I nodded and smiled. At the door, I gave him a hug. "Thank you," I said to him.

He tightened his grip around me. "I'm so glad to have you back, Anna," he said, before I walked out the door.

I spent the rest of the afternoon out smiling. So far, my new life was coming along very well.

Author's Note: I think you all are going to like this chapter :) Thank you to potter-reading-coastie for the help. I'm not sure when I'll post again, by Wednesday, though. If you haven't yet, PLEASE, go to my website (link in my profile) and answer the poll. It takes 30 seconds! I'm really appreciating the responses. Also, I'm going to go respond to reviews right now since I know I've been lacking on that. Please let me know what you think! Thanks everyone!


	16. Chapter 16

"How did it go?" Dad asked as I walked in the door. He and Sophia were playing with blocks on the living room floor. I recognized these blocks as being from my childhood and grinned.

"It went well," I said, walking in and sitting down with them. I leaned over and kissed Sophia.

"Yeah?"

"We're going to go look for my new apartment together," I told him. "But we're going to take things slowly."

He nodded. "I think that's a great idea," he admitted.

"His black eye looks awful," I said. "I'm glad he's not going to work like that!"

Dad chuckled. "No, he's not back yet. Are you going back to the Auror field?"

It was something I hadn't thought about yet. It just wasn't a priority for me. "I don't know," I admitted. "Definitely not right now, I've got too much on my plate to worry about. I need to find a place to stay and figure out my life. Plus, my knee is still bothering me. So, if I go back, it won't be for awhile."

He nodded. "Andrew Pierce will probably want to come over and talk to you at some point," he said, referring to my manager.

"Don't let him know I'm here," I sad. "I will contact him and meet him outside of here. I do not want Christopher to know where I am and he could get it out of Andrew. The only people that know I'm here are you, Penny, and Harry. And that's how I'd like to keep it."

"That's great for now," he said. "But are you going to hide forever? Christopher's a smart bloke; he probably knows you're here already. And what happens when you leave here? He's going to fight for custody of Sophia; you know that, don't you?"

Those were all questions I wasn't allowing myself to dwell on. "I'll figure it out when I get there," I told him.

"I'm surprised he hasn't written yet," Dad said. "That's the only thing that will be able to get here."

I chuckled. That would definitely be Christopher's last resort. I hoped Christopher wouldn't go after Harry. He didn't need that.

Thinking that much about Christopher made me a little queasy, so I picked up Sophia. She laid her head down on me. "Mama," she babbled. I ran my hands through her soft red curls.

"She's amazing," Dad said, moving from the couch. "And when he fights for her, he will lose. There's enough evidence that he's a manipulative asshole. Any judge worth their salary will be able to see that. Provided, of course, that Chris doesn't buy them off."

I could imagine him bribing the judge and the idea made me sick. "I'm just afraid that he'll get partial custody," I said. "And it's not like we can escape him. He's still going to be Minister for Magic someday. She's going to know who he is."

He shrugged. "I doubt he'll be Minister," he said. "Kingsley knows all about Christopher. I doubt he'll pass off control of the nation to someone with as many flaws as Christopher has."

"I hope you're right," I said. I went upstairs to put away the new clothing I'd gotten for Sophia and tidied her room up. Sometimes, cleaning could be a great de-stresser.

When I woke up in the morning and went downstairs with Sophia, Harry was waiting in the living room with Dad. I knew I had slept in, but I didn't expect him to be here.

"Good morning." I said. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Harry chuckled. "I thought we could look at some real estate fliers and maybe figure out some apartments you wanted to look at?"

"Oh," I said. "That'd be great. Let me just get something for Sophia to eat and I'll be right in."

Dad had made himself sparse by the time I returned to the living room with cereal for Sophia. I would eat later.

"Have you met Sophia?" I asked, as I spooned cereal in her mouth. I couldn't remember off the top of my head.

"No, not formally," he said. "But she's very beautiful."

I smiled, and kissed her forehead. "I'm so glad I got her out of there," I told him. "She's so worth it."

He smiled at us, and spread out some newspapers and a magazine on the table. "I'm glad," he said. It didn't sound sarcastic or anything, just totally honest. "So where do you want to live? I brought Muggle and magical apartment fliers. I wasn't sure."

"I'm not sure either..." I said. "Er, maybe it would be better if, for now, if I were in a Muggle area."

He nodded. "I think that would be good too," he said. "And then there's the question of... where."

"Well," I said. "Truly, I haven't thought about it."

He smiled. "You've sort of got three options, right?" he asked. "Live near here, live in London, or somewhere in the country side."

"Eliminate the country," I said. "I'd rather be near people. Can we look both around here and in the city? Travel is easy enough. It's not like I'm going to return to work next week or anything."

"Do you know when? Or if?" he asked. He looked concerned; I wondered which reason he was using at the moment. After all, I had plenty of reasons myself, and I bet he felt a few of them.

I shrugged. "I've got to talk to Andrew," I told him. "I'm... work isn't my priority right now, to be honest. I need to focus on moving and getting my life back in order and making sure I have custody of Sophia. When are you going back?"

"Two weeks from yesterday," he said. "I'll go back to training then. I'm out of shape, though, so it'll be another two weeks or so until I'm back full force."

"Will you be happy to go back?" I asked. I would be a little sad when he had to work, because it would mean he would have less time to spend with me.

"Yeah, it will be nice to do something other than sitting around my apartment," he said. "I mean, when I'm working it does get tedious and I want days off, but I'd much rather be at work. I feel like I'm doing something there. You know what I mean."

I enjoyed just sitting about with him. I felt like we were able to talk for hours. I looked through the fliers, looking for Sophia's and my new home. I selected four apartments to look at. They all had two bedrooms, but had various other qualities. One was on the top floor and had a roof deck. I didn't exactly think I needed a roof deck, but it was in my price range and looked nice. I chose two apartments in Scotland, close to Dad's, and two in London.

"Annie?" Dad called from the kitchen. "You may want to see this." He sounded upset.

I was concerned, but got up and went straight into the kitchen. Harry followed me, and I exchanged a worried glance with him.

Dad was at the kitchen table, drinking tea. In front of him was a red envelope. "Oh shit," I said, quietly as I recognized it. It was a Howler.

_Anna,_

_Wherever you are, I will find you. You have taken Sophia and I will get her back. I will not let you shame my family. You are making a mistake by leaving me-_

Sophia started crying, her little nails digging into my shoulders. She was scared. Harry took his wand from his pocket and blew up the Howler before it said anything else. My stomach had flipped and I felt nauseous.

I took Sophia out of the kitchen, because I didn't like the tense environment. I laid down with her on the couch, wrapping a blanket my mother had knit around us. "It's okay, Sophia. I'm here with you... shh..." I whispered. I bet hearing her father's voice yell at me like that was scary. I wondered if she missed him.

I could hear Dad and Harry talking in the kitchen but couldn't figure out what they were saying. I just kept rubbing Sophia's back and whispering calming things to her. Eventually she fell asleep on my chest. I was still shaken up, but my main concern was that she was better. I wanted to keep her out of this as much as possible.

Eventually, Harry came in and sat down next to me. "Are you okay?" he asked.

I nodded. "I hate him," I said quietly. "He doesn't deserve to have her."

"Can I do anything to help you?" he asked. "What do you need?"

I shook my head. I really appreciated his offer. It felt good that he cared and he wanted to help. "You're already doing everything I need," I told him. "I really appreciate it."

He picked up my hand, and squeezed it. I had been careful not to have any physical contact with him today. We were just friends, after all.

"You and Sophia sleep the same," he commented. I wondered when he had seen me sleeping before, but I remembered Christmas Eve, when we'd slept, cuddled together in his bed. "You know, with your arms up under your face like that."

I smiled at him. "I guess we do," I said. A few moments passed.

"I'm going to go," he said. "I'll call some realtors and make appointments to go look at these places. How does the day after tomorrow sound?"

"That sounds great.Thank you, Harry," I said.

~.~

Harry owled me the next day with the times we were going to visit the apartments. They started at two in the afternoon the next day, and Dad had offered to watch Sophia. I couldn't tell if he was really enjoying spending time with her or if he just really wanted Harry and I to have time alone together.

But I trusted Dad with Sophia and knew that she was completely protected from Christopher at his house.

I was a little excited to go check out the apartments, and he was picking me up. I put on my winter coat, because it was snowing. I met him at the apparition point.

"I'm going to side along apparate you," he told me. "I think Christopher might be watching your magic use, but he can't trace anything off your wand."

"Where did you hear that?" I asked.

"Chase Levings," he said. Chase was a new Auror who was in charge of watching for magic that appeared to come from criminals. They all had a trace placed on them.

"Great, now I'm on criminal level?" I asked, frustrated. That was a really messed up thing for Christopher to pull, and it terrified me of what was actually going to happen when he found me. Because eventually, I knew he would find me.

"No, it's just a perk of Christopher's job," he said. "A messed up, corrupted perk. Come on, let's go."

I nodded, and held onto his arm. We landed outside the first flat. It was a town over from Dad's and an in-law apartment. I didn't like it because it was small and dirty and the people were way too close. I wanted an apartment, but if wanted to share dwellings with someone, I would pay rent to Dad. At least I knew him.

The second was in a magical area, but way, way too small. There would hardly be enough room for Sophia and me. If I wanted to invite Dad or Harry over for dinner, we would have to squeeze in.

"I can afford better than this," I told Harry.

"I agree," he said. "Maybe London will be better to you."

But the first apartment definitely wasn't it. It was nicer than the other two, but would need a lot of cleaning and painting. I wanted something I could move right into. We walked to the next apartment, but stopped in a coffee shop because we were running early.

"There's nothing out there," I whined. "I'm glad Dad's letting me stay there, but I want my own place."

"You could always stay with me if you need to," he offered. "I've got an extra bedroom..."

"You're very generous," I said. "But for right now, I really need to have my own place. I've never lived by myself, you know? I mean, I'll have Sophia with me now, but I've never managed my own place. I lived with Mum and Dad... then I moved into the apartment, but Christopher managed that. And he stayed over most nights. And then I moved into his house, and now I'm at Dad's. I need to learn to budget and grocery shop and be a mum."

He nodded looking a little sad, but I could tell he understood. "I think it will be good for you too," he said. "But I'm just letting you know. If you need it..."

"Thank you," I said, smiling.

"So, these apartments must look kinda dumpy compared to your first apartment," he commented.

I remembered the first apartment I lived in. It was furnished, which had been really nice at the time. It was on the eighth floor over a Muggle office space. "It had a chandelier," I told Harry.

He snorted. "A bit... overrated," he said.

"Yes," I said, tracing along a crack in the table.

"Well, maybe the next apartment will be it," he suggested. "It's furnished, so that's a start, right?"

"Mmhm," I said. Furnished was definitely a plus. All I had was clothing and a few odd trinkets right now. I didn't have a couch or kitchen table or pots and pans. I didn't even have plates. If I could find a place that already had that stuff, it would be a lot easier.

Immediately walking into the building, I felt better about this apartment. It was the most expensive option but so far looked promising. The apartment was on the second floor, which was good. There was no elevator and I didn't want to have to walk up to the fourth floor with groceries and Sophia.

It didn't have any current tenants, which was good. I could move in sooner if no one lived there right now. It wasn't perfect, but after seeing the other apartments, I decided it would work.

It was on the small side, no doubt, but it would work. Sophia would get her own room and there was a separate laundry room. I really couldn't ask for much more. Besides, it would not be a permanent place. I would just live there for a year or so. Who knew what would happen after that? Maybe I would be moving in with Harry, or maybe I would buy my own little house in the suburbs.

"What do you think?" he asked, pulling me from where I was imagining the future.

"I think this is it," I said, my eyes soaking up the view of my new place. I felt a certain contentedness that came with finding a place that was completely _mine._

I talked to the realtor and put a deposit on the apartment. She said I could move in about a week later, there was some more paperwork that needed to be done. But essentially, the place was mine.

"We're going back to my place for a glass of wine to celebrate," he said.

"I should get back to Sophia," I told him. I was excited he invited me to his apartment but I really didn't want to take advantage of Dad babysitting.

"Just one glass," he told me. "No longer than an hour. I promise."

I looked him in the eye, because I was on the fence. I knew I would have a great time with him, but I didn't want to upset him. "Please?" he asked.

I nodded. "All right," I relented. "One glass, and then I'm going home to my daughter."

He grinned, and we walked arm in arm. I really had no idea where I was going, but he led me into a building only about two streets over from my new place. "We're rather close," I said. "Did you do that on purpose?"

He shook his head**, **grinning. "No, but it works out well, doesn't it?"

Once we were in his apartment, it was very familiar, as I had been here a few days ago. "Your apartment is nice," I said. It wasn't very fancy or anything, but I thought it was cozy and homey. A knit blanket was folded and laid across the back of the couch, which I pulled around me. It was very soft. From the couch, I could see him pouring two glasses of wine in the kitchen. He brought them in and handed me one, before settling in on the other side of the couch.

"Thank you for helping out today," I said.

He smiled. "You're welcome," he said. "It's very nice to see that you've actually gotten away from him. I wanted to believe you in the hospital, of course. And then for awhile I thought that you might be lost forever. But to see you picking out your new place, getting to spend time with you and Sophia and your father... it's lovely."

The happiness he was conveying made it impossible not to smile back. "It's lovely to be here. I mean, it's bloody hard, and I know it won't be easy for awhile, but I'm surrounded by people who care about me."

"You're right," he told me. "I do care about you."

"I care about you too," I said. "Do you think we can be a couple now?"

I could tell it was something he was thinking about, because it took him a moment to respond. "So much of you is the you that I began to love," he told me. "But still, sometimes I question it. It's not that I don't like you, don't take it like that. It's just that there's a part of you I don't know all that well."

"It's not going to change," I said. "besides,** i**sn't that why people are in a relationship? To learn more about each other? Give us some time; you'll know more about me. And I'll know more about you. And I think it will be nice."

He leaned closer to me, and we met in the middle. I ran my hands through his hair, nudging his mouth closer to mine. His lips were soft and tasted of the wine we were sharing. I knew my nose pushed his glasses askew, but he didn't seem to mind. Kissing him was wonderful and gentile.

"What do you think?" I asked a few minutes later when I separated to catch my breath.

He smiled and fixed his glasses. "I think you're right," he said quietly. "It will be nice."

I grinned back at him. So far, things were falling in their place in my new life. I couldn't really be happier.

**Beta's Note from Coastie: Dear Readers, for the past few chapters, our author has given me a lot of credit for helping her. While I do like the praise, I have done very little. Our esteemed author wrote 99% of what you have seen herself. I only fine tuned a few words here and there, and add plot ideas for the future. For her hard work, I think she deserves a little feedback. So please, go to her homepage and answer a few quick questions in her Polls. Also, I can tell you personally, if you leave a review that says more than "great chapter", she will write you a personal note back. This is great if you want a question answered, FYI. Anyways, thanks for your time. And now I turn it over to our Author.**

Author's Note: Yes, basically as my beta, potter-reading-coastie just said, I've got a poll on my website (link on my profile) where basically I want you to decide the fate of the story. So please, go vote! I explain everything there and I would really appreciate it. Thank you to potter-reading-coastie and karmonblake as well for their help with this chapter. Let me know what you think!


	17. Chapter 17

I ended up spending a lot of time at Harry's apartment the next few days. We went shopping together and he helped me get stuff for my new place.

It was furnished, but I still needed some things. I needed bedding, a crib for Sophia, stuff for the kitchen, and bathroom. I hadn't realized it would be so much work. I couldn't imagine how much work it would be to get the whole place ready.

"How many days until you move in again?" he asked. We were walking back to his apartment after a good three hours of shopping. I carried Sophia, and a bag of towels. He had managed to get the rest of the bags. Today I had bought for the kitchen and bathroom.

"Three," I said. "Friday."

We climbed up to his apartment. I was storing everything in his spare room because I didn't want to have to just bring it back to London in a few days. I had gotten used to the quirks of his apartment by now. The door stuck sometimes, but he had taught me exactly where to kick it for it to open.

He had gotten distracted by the mail on his table, but I went into the spare room and put the stuff down. Sophia was hungry, so I took out some crackers for her and we sat in the living room.

"Anything good in the mail?" I asked.

"Ron and Hermione invited me to dinner Friday," he said.

Friday was the day I was supposed to move into my new place. Harry and Dad were going to help me, and had promised to set up really strong safety wards around it. But I didn't want to interfere with his social life. He deserved to spend time with his friends, and I felt like I might have been hogging him lately.

"Oh," I said. "Well, that sounds like you will have fun."

He came into the living room and sat down next to me. "I told you I would come over and help you settle in," he said. "And I really want to make sure your wards are secure. The fact that you haven't heard from Christopher in a few days worries me a little."

"I'm sure Dad can manage," I told him. "Go out with your friends."

"I will reschedule with them," he said. "Saturday night or something... I think they're going to tell me Hermione is pregnant."

"That's exciting," I said. I didn't really know either of them well. I worked in the Auror Department with Ron, but he had mostly kept to himself. "How long have they been married?"

"They got married a little over a year ago," he said. He stared off towards the window, and I could tell he was deep in thought.

"Do you want kids?" I asked him, wondering what he was thinking about. I had always just assumed yes, but I wasn't sure why I thought that.

He nodded. "Yeah," he said. "I do. Two, maybe three."

I reached out for his hand, lacing my fingers in his. "Do they know we're together?"

"I told them the other day," he told me, but didn't give any details.

I could tell something was off with him and I wanted to get it out of him without pushing him. I didn't want to upset him anymore by questioning him. "Were they happy for you?" I asked.

"Honestly, they were a little apprehensive. But I think they're happy that I'm happy," he said with a small smile.

I understood why they were apprehensive, but hopefully they would be more supportive once we all got together. "You're happy, though?"

He smiled. "I am," he told me. He leaned over and kissed me.

"I should go," I said. "It's nearly time for Sophia's nap, but I'll see you tomorrow."

He gave me a hug and kiss and I left. It was snowing wildly in Scotland, so I was glad to get inside.

"Good day?" Dad asked, after I put Sophia down.

I nodded. "So far, so good," I told him, smiling. "Stuff for the new place is coming along well. I've just got to get a few things for the bedroom and I'm all set. I contacted the Department of Magical Transportation and they will come out next Monday to set up a Floo connection."

"And Harry and I will set up safety wards on Friday too," he said. "Because I think you need them. You've got some more mail." He had the same look on his face that he had when I received the howler.

"Oh?" I asked. That made me nervous. I walked over to his chair in the living room to get mail from him. He handed me two envelopes, and I sat in the chair next to him.

I recognized the handwriting on the front of the first envelope I picked up as belonging to Hilary, Christopher's mother. Anxiety caused my stomach to flip in nervousness.

I turned it around and slid my finger under the seal. I took a deep breath and read it.

_Dear Anna,_

_I am just writing to you to let you know what disappointment you have brought to my family. I was always wary of Christopher's affections for you. I knew he could do better and your parents' had no respectable place in society. However, he insisted that you were different and began to lavish you with gifts and an apartment. I hoped it was just a phase, and he would come to his senses. Upon discovering you were pregnant, he had no choice but to take you in. By trapping him with the pregnancy, you brought embarrassment. My family has always been associated with prominence. Your scene upon leaving Christopher's house last week was incredibly inappropriate. Matters like that should have been dealt with in private in the company of my son. You have brought shame to the Bennet family._

_You may think you can keep Sophia safe by hiding. You are wrong. Your actions regarding her are embarrassing, but will cause no further embarrassment. You may be assured she will be back within Christopher's care within the month._

_Hilary_

I gulped, and folded the letter back up and placed it in the envelope.

"Who's it from?" Dad asked from beside me.

I handed him the envelope. The whole letter was terrible. I felt disgusted that I had ever associated with people who thought like this. I wanted to throw up.

I picked up the next envelope, praying this wouldn't be worse. Then I had to ask myself, what could be worse?

There was a Ministry of Magic seal on the envelope, but the handwriting on the front did not belong to Andrew Pierce. It was not from the Aurors.

_Dear Miss Anna Katherine Greenwood,_

_This letter is a notification of a custody trial being waged over your daughter, Miss Sophia Camille Marie Bennet, by her father, Mr. Christopher Reid Bennet. Mr. Bennet seeks full custody. A trial is to take place January 28..._

I had to stop reading. My eyes filled with tears. Only seconds before, I had wondered how today could get worse. Now I knew. It was very possible.

"Annie?" Dad asked. I looked at him through my teary, distorted vision. "It's the custody trial announcement, isn't it?"

I nodded, and handed him that letter. "He's going to find a way to win," I said. "I just know it. He doesn't play fair. And then I'll have to give her up and I will never see her again. I know how this is going to end."

"Shh..." he said. He stood up and pulled me into a hug. "Why don't you go see Harry? I'm sure he will know how to cheer you up. I'm sure he has some advice on how to proceed."

That did sound like a good idea, so I got my coat on. "You're sure you'll be okay with Sophia?" I asked.

He nodded. "Go on."

I apparated just inside his wards, and knocked on his door. I could hear voices on the other side of the door and desperately hoped he had a television or radio on. I just wanted him to myself to talk.

The door opened, and he came out into the hallway. "Anna," Harry said, looking surprised. "What's the matter?"

I sniffled. I had stopped crying for the moment but it would not take me much to start again. "Christopher's fighting for full custody..." I said.

"Oh..." he said. He immediately engulfed me in a tight hug. "Anna, I'm so... I'm not quite sure..."

"Harry?" the door to his apartment opened and Ginny Weasley stood there. "Who's here?"

I froze. What was she doing here? She wasn't supposed to be there. I knew they had dated for ages before he met me, but she had no reason to be here. Somehow I had a feeling today was about to get worse, as if that was possible. I started feeling sick to my stomach, what if she wanted to get back together with him?

"Er," Harry scratched at the back of his neck. I took a step away from him. "Anna, Ginny... Ginny, Anna, my girlfriend."

Ginny nodded at me. "Hello. Anyways, Harry, I'll be on my way. I'll write you soon." She kissed his cheek and walked past me.

He watched her walk away, and turned to me. "Come in," he said.

As soon as we got in and he shut the door, I turned on him. "What was she doing here?" I asked. I could feel anger starting to burn up within me.

"She- just- I... I don't know," he said, looking down. He wouldn't even meet my eyes.

Tears burnt my eyes and caused my throat to clench up. "I don't want her here," I said. "I mean, honestly, did she come over the minute I left?"

He took a step closer to me. "Anna, please... she just wanted to visit," he explained. "It's not a big deal."

"Yes it is!" I told him. "I'm leaving. I shouldn't even be here; I should be at home with my daughter. God, my priorities are so messed up." I really didn't want to be there anymore.

"Anna, wait, please calm down. Let's talk-"

I went out the door and apparated away.

~.~

Upon getting home, I went straight upstairs. I didn't want to have to talk about it with Dad. As I sat in my room, I realized I had overreacted.

I had made a fool of myself. It was just an allover awful day and I wanted to get as far away from it as possible. But I was stuck in that tiny bedroom.

It sleeted all day, which sort of matched my foul mood. I didn't want to talk to Dad, and thankfully he left me alone.

As soon as Sophia had fallen asleep for the night, I took a sleeping potion. I didn't want to deal with myself anymore. And even though I had taken the maximum dose, I still tossed and turned for a bit.

I woke up the next morning groggy from the sleeping potion. As I sat up, I realized why I had woken up. Harry had opened my bedroom door and was standing in the doorway. "Good morning," he said.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Can I come in?" he asked.

I nodded as I rubbed my eyes. I was sure I looked like a mess. I wondered why he was here. "Just be quiet, please don't wake the baby."

He nodded, and sat on the edge of my bed. "I'm sorry about yesterday," he said. He looked very contrite.

"I vastly overreacted," I told him. "I should be apologizing."

He shook his head. "I just... it was, honestly, just her coming over to say hello," he told me.

"She kissed you on the cheek," I reminded him.

"Yes, she did," he acknowledged. "I'm sure it meant nothing for either of us."

"I'm sorry I was a crazy person," I told him. "But you have to remember, I just got out of a relationship where I was being cheated on. I'm a little paranoid, and I'm sorry I freaked. I was just already so emotional because I'm nervous over the trial, and seeing her there set me off. And I took it out on you."

"Don't worry about it," he said, giving me a hug. I didn't want him to move his arms from around me. I felt secure. "You brought up a good point. You just got out of an abusive relationship. I need to keep that in consideration."

"Lay with me," I asked him. He kicked off his shoes, and laid down next to me. I rested my head on his shoulder.

"Christopher came to my apartment last night," he said.

"Why?" I asked, sitting up. I wanted Christopher to stay as far away from him as possible.

"I think you went outside the wards last night when you apparated away," he told me. "But I just stayed inside the apartment and acted like no one was home. I didn't exactly want to go talk to him."

"I'm so sorry," I told him. "I really am."

"It's fine. I'm glad it was my apartment instead of here," he told me. He ran his hands through my hair lazily, and I was sure it was a mess, but it felt nice.

"It's not right," I told him.

He shook his head. "And I talked to Hermione last night," he said. "She wants to help you with the custody case. She's a lawyer, you know, a really great one. And I told her about your situation and she wants to help you out."

"Really?" I asked, a little bit speechless, I just couldn't believe it. That was the most amazing news I had heard in awhile. That made all of yesterday's disaster worth it. I wasn't sure yet if I liked Hermione as a person, but her talent as a lawyer was notorious.

I told him so,"I can't even believe that. I'm so grateful. Thank you so much for getting her to help me. "

"It was all her idea, actually, I only told her while I was venting some frustration. She wants to meet you for coffee or something one day this week and she rescheduled dinner for next weekend. She wants me to invite you," he told me.

I leaned in closer to him and grinned. "I love your friends so far," I said.

"You're going to win that case and you're going to raise her," he informed me. "I promise. Hermione won't let us down."

I smiled, and leaned up to give him a kiss. He wrapped his arms tighter around me and I closed my eyes. I felt safe and secure there. I knew he wouldn't let anything happen to me. I was so relieved things were better, and drifted back off into sleep.

Author's Note: Thanks so much to everybody who votes in the polls on my website. I was, honestly, amazed by the response. So a great thanks to potter-reading-coastie for rallying the troops, and also for being a great beta. Thanks to karmonblake as well for the beta-help. Since it won by a vast majority, you will get to read the custody trial. Well, to the 5 people who don't want to read it, I'm not going to force you :) Thanks so much for all the support everyone. Let me know what you think! 


	18. Chapter 18

When I woke up again, I was a lot happier. Simply being around him really brightened my day.

"Good morning, again" he said, as I pulled away from him. He squinted because he wasn't wearing his glasses.

"Does Dad know you're here?" I asked as I put on my bathrobe. I got Sophia out of her crib before we went downstairs.

"Mmhm," he said. Penny was in the kitchen making what smelled like sausages and eggs. It smelled delicious and I couldn't wait to eat it. Dad sat at the table, reading the newspaper. That was how I had always found him. It didn't matter what time I woke up, whether it was six or eight thirty. It was a consistent thing; he had been like that when I was a child as well.

"Good morning, Annie, Sophia," he said, nodding to us. Harry went over and shook his hand before sitting down next to me.

"Hermione Granger wants to be my lawyer for the custody trial."I told Dad.

"Oh," he said, raising his eyebrows. "Something you orchestrated, Harry?"

Harry shook his head. "I mean, I told her about it, but she offered. She's a great lawyer," he said.

"I've heard stories," Dad said, chuckling. "Thank you, Harry. She's going to need all the help she can get. I'm sure Christopher's going to pull out all the stops on his defense."

"Well then, so will we," Harry said with a feral grin. His defensiveness of me, made me smile.

After breakfast, I wrote a letter to Hermione. I wanted to make sure I got into contact with her as soon as I could. I would be grateful to her forever for this. And while we had never met personally, I was sure she had some preconceived ideas about me and I wanted to destroy them.

_Dear Hermione,_

_Harry has told me that you are willing to help me out in the custody case for my daughter. I just want to say thank you so much. I will be grateful to you forever. I would love to meet with you, at a time and place that is convenient to you._

_Thank you,_

_Anna Greenwood_

I didn't really know what else to say, but Harry read over it and approved. I received a reply back that night. She wanted to meet Tuesday morning at a Muggle coffee shop that was near my apartment. Harry must have been talking to her about me.

I spent the next few days getting ready for the move. I knew I wouldn't be able to buy everything until I moved in and realized what I was missing, but I did my best.

And Friday was the moving day. It was exciting to move, I thought. Getting to set up the new apartment just how I liked it was a challenge I was ready for. Once I was out of Dad's house, I would be officially independent.

I felt like I had so much stuff, but once I started moving boxes into the apartment, it didn't seem so bad. A lot of the stuff for the apartment was at Harry's, but he brought that over.

While Harry and Dad started to set up wards, I set up Sophia's room. I knew she had no idea what was going on, as she sat on the floor and played with blocks, babbling to herself. I wanted to make it as special as possible. She had a few new toys to play with that I had found in Dad's attic. It was weird to see her playing with things from my childhood, but a good kind of weird.

I could hear Dad and Harry talking in the other room, but couldn't truly make out what they were saying.

"Anna," Harry called. His voice was laced with a bit of urgency, although I didn't worry.

I picked up Sophia and went into the kitchen, where they were. "What's the matter?" I asked.

"You've got more mail," Dad said. I saw an owl hovering outside the window and my stomach dropped immediately. My heart raced and I panicked.

"I'm really starting to hate mail," I said. I put Sophia down in the carpeted living room area, and opened the window. "I haven't gotten good mail in weeks."

I took the letter from the owl and tore it open with shaking hands.

It was from Marni. I completely did not expect that. In my head I thought it might be another letter from Hilary or Christopher or maybe even Andrew Pierce. Hell, even a letter from Matthew Shriver was more expected. What could Marni possibly want?

I sat down at the table to read.

_Dear Anna,_

_I've been meaning to write to you for awhile but could never figure out what to say to you. I just want to say I'd love to meet sometime and visit with you. I know you're completely avoiding Christopher right now, but that doesn't mean we can't see each other. I miss you!_

_Love,_

_Marni_

I was really confused after reading it. I had always assumed that she would be on his side of the battle. I had met her through Christopher's sister, Kate, and I knew they were still good friends. I was sure Christopher's sisters were not happy about the situation either.

"Who is it from?" Harry asked.

"Marni," I told him. I just really didn't know what to think. I wasn't sure if I should write back to her. Part of me wanted to think that she still wanted to be my friend. We were great friends before. But part of me was wary and wanted a full separation from the people that populated that part of my life.

I handed him the letter and both he and Dad read it.

"What do you think?" Harry asked.

I shrugged. "I'm trying to make sense of it," I said. "I don't know. I need to think about whether I even want to acknowledge it."

Dad nodded. "Well, it isn't the worst piece of mail you've gotten," he said. And he was correct.

I folded it back up and put it away. I needed some time to decide if I would respond. I took a break from setting up to go get them lunch. They were working hard to make the apartment safe.

After lunch, it only took them about another half hour to finish. "Is there anything else you need me to do?" Dad asked.

"I believe I'm all set," I told him. I knew Harry would stay for a little while longer. "Thank you so much for you help."

"Anytime," he said. "If you need anything, let me know. I'll be down to help in a minute."

I hugged him, squeezing tightly. "Thanks for everything, Dad."

"Remember, anything you need," he said.

I nodded and kissed his cheek. He went into the hall to apparate away. Luckily, my apartment was at the end of the hall, around a corner, so he could do that.

Later, Harry found me in my bedroom."What can I help you with?" he asked. Truthfully, I was almost done. I just had to finish making my bed, which I could do later, and a few odd things around my room.

"Would you watch Sophia for a bit so I can go grocery shopping?" I asked. I knew that was asking a lot of him, but it would make my life so much easier.

"Are you sure?" he asked. They had never been alone together. I could tell Harry cared about Sophia, but he didn't know exactly how to show it.

"If you're not comfortable with it, that's fine," I told him. I didn't want to push anything.

"No, I'm comfortable with it. She seems pretty content. But I just want to make sure you're okay leaving her," he said.

I nodded and leaned down to give her a kiss. "Thanks so much, Harry!" I said, giving him a kiss too before making a trip to the grocery store. It was just down the street. The location of my apartment was actually really convenient. Within a few blocks, there was a grocery store, a pharmacy, a train station, and Harry.

I didn't take long. I just wanted to make sure I had the basics. The whole domestic thing was brand new to me, but I was trying to do it right. It was times like this I yearned to have my mum. She would know exactly what I needed to buy and give me good recipes to cook. She would be all over Sophia, making sure she was spoiled rotten. I missed her terribly for the first time in a long time, which made me feel even worse.

I tried not to think about her too hard, as I picked up boxes of pasta and the vegetables that were in season. It looked like I would have enough food for at least a few days, and that was fine. The grocery store was a five minute walk away.

Carrying the bags all the way to my apartment was not the most fun part, but it was good to be home. Harry was lying on the floor with Sophia while she played, and I grinned when I saw them.

"How'd it go?" I asked him.

"I believe she is still in one piece," he joked. "It was fine." He got up off the ground and looked through the bags on the table. He took out some cookies I had bought. I liked that he was comfortable enough around me to do that.

"Good. Thank you for watching her, it made my trip much easier," I said. I put away the food, and it was starting to get dark out. Harry looked like he was going to stay late, if he didn't stay over. I fed Sophia dinner and put her to bed.

When I came back out to the living room, he had opened a bottle of wine I bought and poured us some. "Tired?" he asked, as I sat on the couch with my eyes closed.

"I got a lot done today," I told him. "And I had a lot of good help. Thank you."

"My pleasure," he said. A few minutes passed. "What are you going to do about Marni?"

I'd kept that at the back of my mind for a lot of the day, and now had to face it again. "I think I'm going to write back," I admitted. "She was my_best_friend... I'll meet her somewhere and we'll have a cup of coffee. If it doesn't work out well, then I won't do it again."

He nodded. "Whatever you think is best," he said. "I can't really help you out with this one." I understood, Harry barely knew Marni.

"What if I don't win the custody trial?" I asked. "What if he bribes the judges or the jury and I lose her?"

"You flee the country and take her with you," he said. I chuckled at the silliness.

"No one in their right mind would let him have full custody of her after they hear your story," he told me. "Especially with Hermione defending you two. I know you're worrying but I'm not. I think it will be fine."

I examined his face. He looked like he was being honest, and it did make me feel a little better. I thanked him, and leaned my head upon his shoulder.

We finished our glasses of wine and he went home. He was going to be busy most of tomorrow with Teddy, so I wouldn't see him. When he was gone, I took that as the perfect opportunity of time to write back to Marni. I wrote a simple note that I would love to meet with her and sent it off.

My apartment was quiet, but I could hear people upstairs faintly. It sounded like they had the television on. I checked on Sophia again and she was sleeping soundly, so I went to bed.

There was a reply from Marni when I woke up in the morning. It said that she wanted to see me soon, and wondered if she could come over to my apartment. I wrote back that she could come over today for lunch if she wanted.

And then I had to prepare for lunch. I had stuff to make chicken and pasta. Getting ready also meant having to shower and getting Sophia ready. I had a lot to do.

But a little after noon time, she showed up. I wasn't quite ready because she was supposed to come at twelve thirty, but I couldn't exactly turn her away. "So this is your new place?" she asked. She scanned the apartment with critical eyes.

"I know it looks like nothing compared to your apartment," I said. "But it's not my forever place. It's just my home while I figure out what I'm doing."

She nodded. "Well, give me the tour," she said.

"We're in the kitchen," I said. "And over there is the living room..." I pointed out my bedroom, Sophia's bedroom, and the bathroom.

"This place is so different from what you're used to," she commented. Lunch was nearly ready, and I stood at the stove stirring while she held Sophia. Sophia had seemed excited to see her at least.

I knew, in her eyes, this place was a dump. But I was happy with it and I didn't want to hear about it. At this point, I would just suffer through lunch with her and not contact her again. She did not come here because she missed me. She missed the old, superficial Anna. It was a little disconcerting, but it answered a few questions I had in my mind.

"Are you going to hire a housekeeper?" she asked. "Or a nanny?"

I shook my head. "I'm not working right now, so no," I said. I ate some pasta and gave some to Sophia.

"Are you sure you won't reconsider?" she asked. "I know it's been a rough month, but Christopher's in rough shape too. He's been absolutely miserable without you two."

"I don't think so, Marni," I explained. "It's too late, I've moved on. Too much has happened. Christopher will get over it eventually and move on. I won't be in the way anymore and he can be with Connie."

"Anna," she said, annoyance in her voice. "You're being stupid about this. Just think about all you're giving up... to live_here_."

I took a deep breath. "If he's that great, you can go live with him," I told her. She was quiet for a few more minutes as we picked at our food.

The washed machine rang to let me know that it was finished washing. "What was that?" she asked, alarmed.

"Washer machine," I said. "Watch Sophia for a moment, I'm just going to put that in the dryer."

I got up and walked to the back corner of the flat. I had found out this morning that if you didn't put the wet laundry into the drier right away, it smelled gross. The washer looked like it was pretty old.

When I made my way back to the kitchen, no one was at the kitchen table. The front door was still open. "MARNI!" I screamed, but I knew it was no use. She had apparated away.

And she had taken Sophia with her.

Author's Note: So, that's a cliffhanger. Next chapter will feature an appearance by someone I think you guys have been dieing to see! Thanks to everyone for all the support, it means the world to me. Thank you to my betas, potter-reading-coastie and karmonblake for your help. You're awesome. Let me know what you think!

**A message from karmonblake**: To readers ~ I suggested to emilyherself the idea of a custody battle and I am glad that so many of you love the idea. Well done on your work on this amazing story, though I help little!


	19. Chapter 19

A frenzy of emotions ran through my veins. Shock and pain dominated. I felt sick to my stomach, and prayed I would not throw up. I ran for the phone.

It took me two tries to actually dial Harry's number because my hands were shaking so badly. By the time he picked up, I was absolutely hysterical. "Harry," I managed through my tears.

"What's wrong, Anna?" he asked. He sounded really concerned. "What's the matter?"

"She took her," I said, still unable to process it... "Marni took Sophia."

"Fuck," he swore. "I'll be over in a few minutes. I'll tell your Dad. I've just got to find someone to watch Teddy and I'll be over... It's going to be okay, Anna."

I didn't know how he could say that right now. I certainly didn't feel okay. If I didn't get her back I didn't know what I would do with myself. She meant the world to me, and now she was gone. All because I wanted to switch some _stupid _laundry. I was so angry I wanted to smash the bowls we had been eating out of against the wall.

But I restrained myself, because I would have to clean it up and I really did not feel like cleaning up right now. I just sat at the kitchen table, sobbing. I had never cried this hard, and it made me feel even sicker.

Although I knew it was only minutes, the time it took for Harry to get there felt like days. When he walked in the door, I stood up and clung to him.

He held me tightly, but it didn't have the usual calming effect on me. The only thing that would was to have Sophia back in my arms.

"I'm so sorry, Anna," he told me. "I'll get her back for you. I promise."

"I'm so stupid," I sobbed. "I left them alone for a minute to put clothing in the drier. That's all it took and now she's gone."

"Shh..." he said. "At least we know that they're not going to hurt her."

I hadn't even thought about them hurting her, so it didn't make me feel any better. "I want her back," I said.

He released me and cupped my face in his hands. "Your father will be here as soon as he can. I dropped Teddy off at Molly Weasley's and ran into Ron. He's gone to get Hermione and they will come here. Ron and I will go find her. She's got to be at Christopher's house, right?"

"I can't think she would be anywhere else," I said.

He led me to the couch and sat down. I was still crying, but unsure where I had all these tears stored. He went back to the kitchen and got me a drink.

"I'm not thirsty," I told him. He sat next to me and persisted.

"Come on, Anna, please. You'll get dehydrated from all those tears," he said. I took the cup from his hand and took a big sip.

The water tasted funny in my mouth. There was just a trace of sweetness that I hadn't tasted in the tap water before.

"There's a sedative in that, isn't there?" I asked, setting the water down on the coffee table. I knew there was, it was the one that Aurors used. I wasn't sure if I should fight the medicine or just let it work. He wouldn't harm me, I knew, and he would take care of things.

"Yes," he said. "I'm sorry, Anna. It's easy to forget that you're trained to detect these things like I am."

I rested my head against the couch, closing my eyes. Crying so hard for so long left my throat and eyes sore.

He grabbed my arm. "Come on, why don't we go in your room? Just lay down for a few minutes and you'll feel much better. And by then your Dad will be here..."

I followed him and laid on my bed. I felt exceptionally dizzy, but it was probably just the potion he'd slipped me. He sat with me, running his hand through my hair, until I drifted off into sleep.

~.~

Harry's Point of View:

As soon as her breathing leveled off, I knew she was asleep. I pulled a blanket up and tucked it around her. She looked so much more peaceful when she was asleep.

I shut the door, and went into the kitchen. I had not been an active Auror for nearly two months now, but I had to get back in the mindset. This was a kidnapping.

But I could not go at it alone. I needed Ron to help me, and he was taking a frustratingly long time. There was a knock on the door, and I looked through the peep hole.

Ron and Hermione stood there, staring through the peep hole. I opened the door. "Took you bloody long enough," I said. I was frustrated and upset too, but didn't mean to take it out on them.

"Sorry. I called Andrew and he gave us clearance. He said to call him if we needed back up. Oh, and he said for you to take it easy," he said.

I snorted. "Her daughter was taken from her, Ron, I'm not going to take it easy until they're back together," I said.

"It's okay, Harry," Hermione said, putting her hand on my arm. "You know where she is. It will be okay. Where's Anna?"

"In her room asleep," I said. That sounded terrible, like she didn't even care. "She was hysterical so I slipped her a sedative potion."

She nodded. "I'll sit here in case she wakes up," she offered.

"Thank you, Hermione," I said. "Her Dad will be here soon. If she needs it, I left the potion on the kitchen table. Three drops in a glass of water."

"Good luck," she said, walking us to the door. "And please come back with that baby in your arms,"

I wanted it a million times more than she did, but knew what she meant. "I'll do my best."

She shut the door behind us and we stood in the hall. Ron differed to me for the planning, which, while unusual, was understandable, evidenced by his next statement. "You know the situation better than I do, where to first?"

"Christopher's," I said. The estate looked rather dull today, but I ran up to the door. Hopefully this would be an easy thing. We would just go in, take Sophia, and get on our way. I knocked on the door.

It opened a few moments later, and the butler stood there. "May I help you?" he asked.

"We're here with the Aurors," Ron said. He had the foresight to remember to bring his badge. "We're here to investigate the kidnapping of Sophia Bennet."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said.

"Let us talk to Christopher," I said. I was frustrated and didn't want to deal with this crap.

"He is not home at the moment, but I can take a message," he said.

"Step aside," Ron said. "We have authority to search the house. It's not advisable that you resist this."

After a moment's thought, he stepped aside, and we went in. I hated this house, but hopefully I would find Sophia in her crib, asleep. It _was_ her nap time.

"I'll check upstairs," I told Ron. I had a vague idea where Sophia's room was. But when I got there, it was empty. No strawberry blonde headed baby waiting. I checked the closet and bathroom, just in case. I did that in the other six or so bedrooms on the second floor.

"Any luck?" I called to Ron.

"Nope," he said. I was really frustrated now. I had no idea where she could be. I cast a spell to reveal hiding people, but nothing came up. The only people here were the staff.

The butler stood, watching us. When I figured it was useless, I went up to him. "How long has he been gone?" I asked.

"I'm not sure he would want me to tell you," he answered.

"This isn't a game!" I shouted. "A child is missing. When did Christopher leave the house?"

"About two hours ago," he said. "I don't know where he went."

"Where's Connie?" I asked.

"She's been away the past few days," I said. "I believe she is staying at her sister's in London."

"Come on, Ron. Let's go," I said.

"What now?" he asked. It was a question I was asking myself. I had no idea what to do. I knew I had to find Christopher. Was he at Connie's? That seemed like a sensible idea. He probably had Marni give him Sophia and went to Connie's sister's. It was out of the way and would take longer for us to find him.

"Let's go back to Anna's flat for a few," I said. I was worried about Anna.

We walked in, and just Hermione was sitting on the couch with the television on. Rod wasn't there like I had expected him to be.

"Her Dad went to the Auror Department to see if anything could be done there," Hermione explained. "He stayed for about twenty minutes. I think just sitting here drove him crazy."

That made sense. I went in to check on Anna, but she was still asleep. That was probably for the best. I didn't want her to think I wouldn't be able to find Sophia.

"What's the plan?" Ron asked. I ran my hand through my hair, trying to think. Out the window, I could see it was getting dark out. Doing this in the dark would be so much harder.

"I think we might have to split up," I told him.

"I would really rather you don't do that," Hermione said, looking worried. "You don't know who exactly has her. They might have weapons."

"We can still be in contact with each other even if we're apart," Ron said. "We're both wearing our watches."

Upon becoming Aurors, we all had special metal plates attached to the underside of the faces of our watches. They functioned as a tool. A simple non verbal charm would alert other Aurors of our needs. Hermione smacked her forehead, I could tell she felt silly. Ron actually chuckled a bit. This lighter moment diffused the tension.

"Where am I going?" Ron asked.

"Marni's." I said. "I'll take Connie's. I'm guessing she's at Connie's. They're both in magical developments on the outside of the city. Here, I'll give you an address."

I took a napkin off the kitchen table and scribbled it down. Then we were on our way, to two different areas of the city. I found Connie's sister's house. I peeked in the first floor window, and saw them sitting down to dinner. They were laughing about something as they drank wine. I didn't see Christopher here, but I was going in.

I knocked on the door, and Connie opened it. "Harry Potter?" she said.

"I'm here as an Auror," I said. "Sophia Bennet has been kidnapped and I need to speak with you."

She looked really concerned; as if this was the first time she had heard about this. I couldn't tell if it was genuine.

"Connie- who's at the door?" her sister asked from the other room.

"Harry Potter's here for the Aurors," she said. Her sister appeared in the doorway.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"I need to talk to Connie," I said. I didn't want to play any games. I wanted to find out if Sophia and Christopher were here. If they weren't, Connie had to know _something_.

Her sister told us we could use the living room and went upstairs. "This will be easier if you just tell me the truth. Are Christopher and Sophia here?"

"No," she said. "I... I haven't talked to Christopher in nearly a week. He wouldn't even let me in his rooms after Anna left."

"So you have no idea where they are?" I asked, feeling lost. If she had no idea... I wasn't so sure I had one either.

She shook her head. "His estate, maybe? I've got no idea. Who took Sophia? How long has she been gone?"

"Marni," I told her. I trusted her now; she seemed very concerned about Sophia.

"That _bitch_." she said. "I knew they were a little more than friends. Of course, he's just got a line of women formed for when the current one ditches. They'll likely be at her townhouse, then."

I nodded. My watch tingled, and Ron was trying to contact me. He was probably telling me what she had just revealed. "Thank you so much, Connie," I said.

She nodded. "Please just find Sophia," she said.

"I'll do my best," I promised. I apparated to Ron's location. It was the last townhouse in a long row, and he was hiding in the bushes.

"What's going on?" I asked. It was dark and frigid in the bushes.

"He's in there," Ron said between the chattering of his teeth. "According to apparition records, he showed up about three hours ago. From what my Extendable Ears tell me, they've just finished shagging in the upstairs bedroom. I haven't heard anything from Sophia, but she's got to be here, right?"

"She better be here in good shape," I said. I pulled a face. Christopher's relationship ethics were truly disgusting.

"Are they asleep?" I asked.

He shook his head. If Sophia was here, it would be better to go in once they were asleep. I could get Sophia and Ron could arrest Marni. She would be going to jail, at least for tonight, for kidnapping. "Not yet. Just hope they're not going for round three," he said. "I didn't even need Extendable Ears for the first one."

"Sorry, mate," I said. I cast a warming charm on the bushes we were crouched in. We had a good view of the bedroom they were in, and the light had just turned off. This was a good sign.

Ron's stomach growled and I realized we'd been doing this for quite a few hours without taking any breaks really. I was hungry too and hoped this wouldn't take much longer.

Ten minutes later, Ron declared they were asleep. I unlocked the front door and we went in quietly. We put silencing charms on our shoes, and I cast a charm to reveal people.

I nearly began to cry from relief when a third, small person showed up right above us. "She's here," I said, relief flooding me.

We went up the stairs and into the bedroom Sophia was in. We found her crying behind a really strong silencing charm. I ran to pick her up and pull her close to me. "I cannot believe them," I said. "Putting up a silencing charm like that. How could they do that to her?"

"Some people are messed up," Ron said. "Really fucking messed up."

I tried to soothe her, but knew she probably wouldn't be entirely calm until she was back with Anna. I felt terrible for both of them. If they had been neglecting her like this, I wondered when she was last fed or changed. "Oh, Sophia, it's okay..." I said, rocking her.

"Maybe it would just be better to get Sophia back to Anna," Ron said. "And then come back to arrest Marni. I'm not sure she should be around to see that."

It was a good idea, but first I had to get Sophia to stop crying. That would probably wake them up. When she was nearly settled, I nodded to Ron. It was time to make a run for it.

We'd just made it to the bottom of the stairs when Christopher came out of the bedroom. "Shit," Ron said. "Faster!"

"Where do you think you're going?" Christopher demanded. "You come back here with my daughter!"

"That you kidnapped in the first place?" I asked. "And then put her behind a silencing charm so you couldn't hear her cry? I don't think so. You'll have a chance to persuade a judge in court."

Marni was coming down now, wearing only a robe. "You give him the baby!" she demanded, pulling her wand on us.

"Miss Warrington, I think you should put the wand down," Ron said. "I'm going to have to arrest you for kidnapping."

"No, it's a huge misunderstanding," she said, backing up the stairs. "I was just trying to-"

"It doesn't matter," Ron said. "You too will have a day in court. Anything you say will be used against you, so I would be quiet."

"You're not going anywhere with either of them," Christopher said.

"Don't make me arrest you too," I said. It was very hard to restrain myself from beating him up. He had treated both Anna and Sophia terribly and did not deserve anything. "Because it won't take much."

We turned and went outside. Sophia was crying again, and I was doing my best just to hold on to her tightly. Ron was making sure Marni didn't go anywhere, and we walked to the apparition point. Christopher ran out, following us.

"You will regret this!" he yelled. "I can charge you for breaking and entering! You think that Anna belongs to you now. You'll see."

"Give it up," I spat. He was so ridiculous and infuriating. "She will never return to you. It's over, Christopher. Your engagement, your daughter, your political career too, probably. It's all over."

Ron apparated first, and then I followed. I couldn't wait to hand Sophia back to Anna.

Author's Note: Well, hopefully that will make a lot of people happy :) The response to the last chapter was actually a lot quieter than I thought it would be. Anyways, the next chapter will be up soon. As always, much thanks to my betas, the amazing potter-reading-coastie and karmonblake. Let me know what you think!


	20. Chapter 20

I'd woken up about an hour ago, and it took me awhile to figure out what was going on. Marni had taken Sophia and Harry was tracking her down.

I distantly remembered Harry giving me a sedative potion, but it seemed so far away. I could still feel its effects in my brain. I was a little foggy and knew my emotions were muted. I remembered sobbing earlier, but I didn't have the drive to now. Crying would get nothing accomplished.

Throwing back the covers, I got out of bed. When I looked out the window, I saw that it was very dark. I wondered what time it was, but I was startled when I heard noise in the apartment. I grabbed my wand off my bedside table and went to investigate.

In the living room, the television was on and Hermione Granger sat on my couch. I was a little surprised, but I lowered my wand.

"Anna," she said, surprised.

"Hello, Hermione," I said. We both knew who the other was, but we had never been properly introduced so it was a little bit awkward. I couldn't bring myself to care much, though.

"I'm so, so sorry about Sophia," she said. "I'm sure Harry and Ron will be back soon. Your father's just gone to get some food, he should be back in about ten minutes."

"Thank you," I said. I took a seat in the big chair on the other side of the living room and wrapped myself up in a blanket. Dad had given me this blanket when I moved out, it had been made by my mother. I just sat there, staring blankly at the television.

"If it makes you feel any better, this will really help your case," she said. She looked unsure of herself and I was sure it was weird for her to be here.

It didn't make me feel any better, because there wouldn't even be a case unless she came back. I knew I shouldn't think like that, but it was so hard not to. I couldn't even say anything back. I chose to lose myself, staring at the wall. It was better not to think at all.

The door opened, and I jumped. It was only Dad, though, carrying two pizza boxes. I got up anyways, and as soon as he put the pizzas down, he gave me a hug.

I lost it, I couldn't keep the tears in any longer. I just felt so hopeless. It was so late and they hadn't found her yet. What were they doing? Where was she? I knew if something had happened to her, I would probably have enough rage to kill Christopher with my bare hands. I prayed it wouldn't have to cometo that. I was clinging to the thought thatshe was alive and asleep somewhere warm.

"It's going to be okay," Dad tried to assure me. "You've got two of the best Aurors out there working on it. Christopher won't get the chance to hurt Sophia. I promise."

I tried to cling to the hope he had. It was just hard.

After my tears stopped, I went back to the chair and curled up in my blanket. They ate some pizza, but I wasn't hungry. Every time I allowed my thoughts to dwell on Sophia, my eyes welled up so I tried to keep myself distracted.

"At what point will they call it a night?" I asked. If I didn't get Sophia back tonight I definitely would need Harry here.

"I'm not sure they will," Hermione said. "At least Harry won't... I think if he comes home tonight without her, he will think he's a failure."

I just shut my eyes and nodded. He wouldn't be a failure. He hadn't been the one that left the room earlier. Right now, all I wanted was a Time Turner to take me back to this morning. I never would have let Marni in the door.

I heard the lock click, and prepared myself. The only other person that could get in was Harry, with Ron of course. But I would either be faced with the great joy of seeing him with Sophia, or heartbreak. I held my breath.

As soon as the door opened I could hear her crying. I had never moved so fast in my life as I did getting to Harry and taking Sophia from his arms.

I held her so close to me, as close as I could get to her. The tears flowed down my face uncontrollably. I was just so relieved. I felt embarrassed that I was having such a breakdown in front of so many people. I opened my eyes, trying to blink away the tears and examine her. She was crying, but other than that she didn't seem hurt. Her face was sticky as if she'd eaten and gotten it all over the place, and she needed to be changed. But other than that, she had emerged whole.

"Thank you so much, Harry," I said, leaning over to give him a kiss. He cupped his hand around the back of my head for a moment and held Sophia and I close.

"Ron found her," he told me.

"Did not," Ron rebuked. "We worked together."

"Thank you, Ron," I said, and he just shrugged. "There's pizza on the counter. If you want more food, the take out menus and money jar are on top of the fridge. Sophia needs a bath."

Sophia did need a bath, but I was overwhelmed too. My apartment wasn't that big and it felt like there were a lot of people in it. I'd slept all day, but I was emotionally exhausted. And I had such a great relief from having Sophia back in my arms. I couldn't help but wonder if she knew what happened today.

As I was washing her and letting her splash around a bit. I wished she was older so I knew what she wanted. I wouldn't be able to refuse a thing today.

She looked up at me and smiled; it almost made me cry again. I got her dressed in pajamas and I went to get her a snack. I had no idea when she last ate, and I wanted her to be full instead of hungry. Ron and Hermione were gone by then, and I sat on the couch with her while she ate. Dad and Harry were still here, but they just sort of gave me the space I needed.

"I'm going to put her to bed," I told them. "And then I want to hear what happened today."

I put her in my bed, because I knew if I didn't I would be up for most of the night, checking on her and making sure she was still there. "Goodnight, Sophia," I said. "I love you."

I laid with her, and rubbed her back as she fell asleep. It was impossible not to drift off too.

~.~

When I woke up, it was light out. I was stiff from sleeping weird, but overall very happy that Sophia was beside me. She was still asleep and I wasn't going to wake her up, so I slid out of bed very carefully. I was starving, probably due to the fact that the last time I ate was yesterday, at lunch. That now felt like days ago.

I was a little startled to find Harry lying on the couch, awake. "What are you doing here?" I asked him, curious. I opened the fridge and took out a piece of pizza. I was eating it cold because I didn't have the patience to heat _him_ up.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay last night," he said. "Do you mind that I stayed over?"

I had him move over on the couch and sat next to him. "I appreciate that you did," I told him. "But I feel bad you slept on the couch. Your place is so close."

"Your couch is actually quite comfortable," he said, smiling. "I don't mind." He looked almost sheepish.

"So what happened yesterday?" I asked. "You've got to tell me."

He placed an arm around me, pulling me closer to him. "She wasn't at Christopher's," he said. "So Ron and I came back here for a bit to regroup. He went to Marni's townhouse and I went to Connie's sister's. Connie seemed really concerned and I could tell it was genuine. Christopher hasn't really talked to her since you left. So I went to Marni's, and she and Christopher were there."

I nodded. "And where was Sophia?" I asked.

"She was in one of the bedrooms behind a really strong silencing charm. When I found her she was crying," he told me.

I wanted to be sick. I couldn't believe that they had neglected her like that. "And what were they doing while she cried?" I asked. "I can't believe them. If they wanted her so bad, why did they neglect her?"

"Well," he said. "I can't tell you for sure but I know before I got there they were shagging. I'm sorry, Anna."

I seriously regretted eating the pizza now. "I'm speechless," I told him. Christopher had been sleeping with the nanny and my former best friend. Who else?

"I know," he said, squeezing me tightly. "Marni was arrested, though."

That really didn't make me feel better. "If he gets custody of her I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do," I admitted.

"He won't," Harry assured me. "Hermione thinks yesterday's incident is enough to tip the scales drastically in your favor."

"I hope she's right," I admitted.

The day was spent inside. I knew it was irrational but I was still a little afraid to leave the house. I wanted to make sure Sophia was completely secure. Dad visited for a little while, and it was easy to see that he had been shaken up by yesterday.

I was excited and nervous for my meeting with Hermione. It was a step in the right direction and I wanted it to go well. Instead of meeting at a coffee shop, she wanted me to go to her office, as it was a little more secure.

Her office was only a block away from the Ministry, and Harry walked me there. We really hadn't been apart since we'd gotten together. But he was going back to work in a few days and I would miss him terribly.

"Good luck," he said, giving me a kiss. "everythingwill be fine."

I nodded, and opened the door. According to the sign in the hallway, Hermione's firm, Macmillan and Granger, was on the third floor. I took Sophia and got in the elevator. Harry had offered to watch her for me and although it made me feel good that he would offer to; I wasn't quite ready to be separated from her yet.

I told the secretary I was there for Hermione and she told me which door to go to. I knocked and Hermione called for me to come in.

"Hi, Anna," she said. "Come in."

I guessed because she was one of the owners of the firm, she got a really nice office. There was a picture of her and Ron on her desk; it was cute.

I set Sophia up in the corner with some toys, hoping she would be quiet for the meeting. "Hello," I said, taking a seat.

"Honestly," she said. "I don't see this as being a terribly hard case. I think the evidence shows that you should be her sole caretaker."

"Good," I said.

"There are a few formalities to get through to have a solid case. Next week you'll be visited by a Court Welfare Officer who will perform a Standard of Living Check at your appartment. I'm sure you'll do spendidly, they'll just observe you, check out your apartment. They just want to make sure that you're equipped to take care of her without undue strain, which is obviously not a problem."

"When's that?" I asked.

"Next Tuesday," she said. "The officer will be at your house around nine, she will probably be there for at least three hours. It all varies, case to case."

That sounded simple enough. I could act natural for a few hours and I knew my apartment was sufficient. "Sounds easy enough," I said.

"I don't think that will be the hard part. The hard part of this case is going to be the presentation of our case in court, but really, even that's not going to be too difficult. I've talked to my partner, Ernie, and a friend of mine who is does both Magical and Muggle law, and they're both sure you will win. Christopher has practically handed us the case. We've just got to construct a solid defense that you provide the healthiest environment for Sophia to grow up in."

"All right," I said. I knew this would be hard for me emotionally, but it would all be worth it.

"I've done a bunch of research," she said, pulling out stacks of papers. "You were in a terrible relationship."

I nodded. "I was," I agreed, taking a deep breath. "It wasn't healthy at all and that's why I want to make sure she doesn't grow up surrounded by that."

"You've done the right thing," she told me. "But... I have to ask you a sensitive question."

"What?" I asked.

"I'm just... confused, I guess. So, Christopher was dating Connie Aubut before he dated you. From what we can gather, he dated her for a long time, about three years. And then suddenly, he breaks it off with her, and quite quickly afterwards, you two were together. Then, not so long after that, you were pregnant, and Connie was brought back into your house to work as Sophia's nanny..."

I gulped as I realized where she was going with this. I didn't want to even think about it.

"Did Christopher just use you to get a child?" she asked. "Was there something wrong with Connie that she couldn't have children?"

"I suppose there is," I admitted. "He would never tell the truth if he was asked. But from here, I think I was just a sort of pretty face who could give him what Connie couldn't, a baby. I know Connie had some health issues, but I never knew what." Saying that out loud was really hard. It was terrible to admit that years of my life had been wasted in that way.

She nodded. "We can most likely use that to your advantage. Another thing is that you were on an appetite suppression potion when you were brought into St. Mungo's... The potion is a tightly controlled one, and the apothecary had it under Christopher's name, so he can get in trouble for that, as it's obvious he gave it to you."

"It was in my morning coffee every day," I told her. "It took me two weeks to notice."

She nodded, writing furiously as I spoke. "You could have been killed. You were lucky that was all that happened to you," she told me.

"I know," I told her. I ground my teeth just thinking about it.I was so incredibly lucky about what had happened, in all aspects. "I've been so lucky."

She smiled at me. "And of course, the fact that Christopher was known to be having an affair with at least one other woman while you were engaged forfeits any chance of him getting full custody. And I think that there's enough evidence to take away partial custody as well. He may still have visitation rights, though they would be small. Marni's trial is before yours, and he is being called into that. Depending on how that goes, it could really help the situation," she said.

"Good," I said.

"And your father's going to probably have to talk to the judges, tell them you're capable of taking care of her on your own, but I talked to him about it the other day and he seems all set," she told me.

"He really wants me to get her," I told her. "My father and I didn't speak for a long time while I was with Christopher, but he's stepped into our lives so completely. I think he's been doing a little research on what he should say."

"I think you're going to be fine," she said. "I honestly do. You've got so much going for you. Christopher's lawyer may be older and have more experience, but they're lawyers, not miracle workers."

"I really appreciate this, Hermione," I told her. "I can't thank you enough."

She just shrugged. "I'm passionate about this case," she told me. "I want you to win. And I feel like I can help you. You're a part of Harry's life now and he's crazy for you, so I want to help you."

"I appreciate it," I repeated. I smiled, thinking about Harry.

"He's really happy," she said.

"He makes me really happy too," I told her. "He's an amazing man and I'm so very lucky."

She grinned. "Anyways, I'm done with you for today, if you don't have any questions. I'll check in with you before next Tuesday and maybe we can meet before the trial, just to go over some things again."

I started to pack Sophia up and get out of her way. "Thanks again, Hermione," I said. "I'll probably see you around before then."

She nodded, and I walked out. I felt better after the meeting. Hearing from her gave me confidence and it was just what I needed.

I could do this.

Author's Note: Well, here's Chapter 20 :) I'll respond to any other reviews in the morning. Thanks to my betas, potter-reading-coastie and karmonblake. And extra special thanks to potter-reading-coastie for the help with all the legal stuff. I need to ask all my readers a favor, PLEASE, go vote in the poll on my website (link on my profile). I know I've asked this a lot but this one is more fun, I think. The fate of the story is in your hands. Also, I put a link to my tumblr in my 'About Me' section of my website, so if anyone wants to follow me, I'll follow you back! Thanks everyone! Also, continue reading for a new short story adventure from potter-reading-coastie:

THE ADVENTURES OF EMILY AND THE COASTIE

In a long and narrow room, adorned with onyx chandeliers, complete with black-flame candles, sat a man in his library. His face and body were scarred by his many voyages on the sea; he was a man twisted by time. He sat at an ornate desk, watching a complex series of read outs, an odd static noise cracking through the air around him. A woman burst into the room, sending splinters of what was once a door through the air.

The Coastie slowly looked up, an air of indifference on his face. A casual flick of his wand, and the door was back in place.

"Something I can help you with?" he asked dryly.

The woman was tall and imposing to most people, a fact that seemed to go unnoticed by him.

"You know damn well what I want Coastie! And I had better get it!" She snapped.

He sighed. "If I have told you once, I have told you many times. I will not control the fate of their lives. That is up to you."

"But I don't know what I want to do with them!" she whined.

"Come now, is that any way for a Dark Enchantress to act? You know, if Karmon was here, she'd be trying to usurp you in your weakness. You are indeed lucky I find it beneath me to mess with such trifles."

The Dark Enchantress thought to herself for a moment. "I have it! I shall let my faithful followers decide the fate of them!"

"Well then, the answer was with you all along dear Emily."

"I told you never to use my name!" she screamed, stalking from the room.

A hooded figure emerged from a dark corner of the room, black flames flickering in her eyes.

"You'd never guess how powerful she is by the way she acts." she breathed.

"I know Karmon, believe me, I know."

Outside, an explosion rocked the building….


	21. Chapter 21

Harry went back to work the next Monday. I was glad that he was returning to normalcy, but at the same time I missed him. The last few weeks had seen us grow a lot closer. We spent nearly every day together, and while we would still see each other, it would be reduced to evenings and weekends.

But he was happy, so I couldn't really complain too much. My apartment was between his and the Ministry, so we usually got a visit for dinner.

The Standard of Living Check was everything Hermione said it would be. It was easy and gave me a lot of confidence in the case. The woman who observed us, a kind, older woman names Ella, seemed really pleased, though she couldn't really comment.

I knew the presentation in court would be the worst part. I would have to face Christopher for the first time in nearly a month. The emotions of more than three years would come out in court and I knew it wouldn't be pretty. It was going to be one of the hardest days of my life. But hopefully, I would be leaving with full custody of Sophia.

Harry would not be attending the court that day and would be watching Sophia. I didn't really have any one else I could trust with her. He said he didn't need to be at court, but he would be supporting me anyways. He thought that if Christopher saw him in court, he would be more volatile. He would be at the courthouse when it was all over, and hopefully I would not be handing Sophia over to Christopher.

I spent the weekend before the trial freaking out. I had confidence, but it was so easy to succumb to worry. Harry and Dad were trying to distract me. Harry took me out to dinner and shopping for a dress to wear to court, and Dad came over to show me what he was planning to say at the hearing.

His speech was good and brilliant and made me cry. It reminded me how very lucky I was to be_here_. I had come so far from a month ago and it did really feel great.

And then the trial was Monday morning. I'd been restless all night, even though Harry had stayed over. He woke me up around six, two hours before I would normally get up with Sophia, with breakfast in bed.

"I knew I kept you around for a reason," I said, jokingly, before biting into the toast.

"Not my dashing good looks?" he asked.

I grinned. "Unfortunately not," I said, pretending to be solemn.

"Well, you'll be disappointed. Toast and eggs is about the extent of my cooking skills," he said. "I am, however, skilled with dialing for takeout."

"Thank you," I said, leaning my head against him. I needed to be showered and dressed and Dad would be here at half past eight. We had to be at court at nine.

"You'll need all the support you can get today," he told me. "I just want you to know you have mine."

I just nodded. I felt as ready as possible to fight this battle, but I was still nervous. I showered and put on my new dress, blue because that was supposedly the best color to wear to court. I didn't really believe that, but it couldn't hurt.

"You will be fine," Harry said. "I know it. Marni got what she deserved last week and you will get what you deserve, custody."

Marni's trial had not gone well for her at all. She would be sitting in prison for a very long time, and it did tug at me. She had been my best friend before, and I was struggling with the guilt it was my fault her life would be spent locked up. The more rational part of me argued that she kidnapped and could have harmed my child, she deserved worse. Harry told me not to worry about it and not to think it was my fault either, but it wasn't as easy as he thought.

I knew today would go fine. I had an amazing lawyer who had put a lot of research into the case and was passionate about it. My father was giving a powerful speech that would probably make me cry again. And I truly did have the best in mind for Sophia.

I fidgeted for awhile before Dad got there. It was hard to sit still. I folded her laundry, but once I got bored of that, I held her while she slept. Harry left me alone, but I could hear him in the kitchen humming. Even after Sophia woke up, I still held her. I knew she was safe here, and if Christopher got her, I wouldn't. That would kill me.

Just before nine thirty, Harry came in. "Your father will be here in a few minutes," he said.

I nodded and put Sophia back in her crib for a moment so I could hug Harry. I wouldn't cry, I promised myself, but I was close to tears.

"Enough worrying," he told me, squeezing me tightly. Suddenly I wished he was going to court with me. He leaned in to kiss me. "You're going to be fine, I know it. I'll see you when everything's over."

There was a knock on the door that I knew was Dad, and Harry picked up Sophia before going to answer. I put on my coat and scarf. Inside my pockets, my hands were shaking from the nerves, but I needed to keep strong.

"Good luck," Harry said.

"She'll do fine," Dad said. "Don't you think?"

"Definitely," Harry agreed. "But not if you two don't get there. I'll see you later."

I kissed Sophia once more and left with Dad. We had to go to the Ministry, which did take awhile, and Hermione was waiting for us. She smiled when she saw us, and I was a little jealous of the outward confidence she had. "Good morning," she said. "Ready to win the case?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," I told her. "I just want this to be over."

We walked into the court room, and a few people were there already. We were a few minutes early, but I had expected Christopher to be here already. It made me feel a little sick that there was a reporter here. This was a private matter.

The next person to come in was Matthew Shriver, but I wasn't surprised to see him there. He took a seat quietly in the back.

The next time the doors opened, the people behind them were not so harmless. Christopher had a very large support system today. He was in front, followed by a man in a very nice suit that had to be his lawyer. His mother, father, and two of his sisters were behind the lawyer. Connie was behind them, but didn't look very happy. Christopher glared at me and I couldn't take it anymore, I had to look away.

"Don't let him intimidate you," Dad said from next to me.

A few minutes later, three people strolled in. I assumed they were the Family Panel, the three people that would decide Sophia's fate.

I clasped my hands together to keep them from shaking and tried to put on a confident face.

"We're here today to decide the custody of Miss Sophia Camille Marie Bennot," the man who stood in the middle said. "The plaintiff is her father, Mr. Christopher Reid Bennot, and the defendant is her mother, Miss Anna Katherine Greenwood."

We had to do a few official things, and then the man in the middle asked me to state why I believed I should have custody of Sophia.

"I..." I began, and my mind went blank. All eyes were on me, and I clammed up. I had a paper in front of me where Hermione had all of our points written up but I couldn't even think straight. I cleared my throat and had to move on. "I believe I should have custody of my daughter for the following reasons. One, Christopher was unfaithful in our relationship. He was having an affair with Connie Aubut, our live in nanny, for an unknown amount of time. This shows that he is unreliable and disloyal. He is also a very controlling person. He had me taking a potion that suppressed my appetite because he believed I gained too much weight. This potion is a controlled substance and its use caused me to get injured while at work. I have the paperwork from St. Mungo's that shows an unusually high amount of it in my blood. That sort of controlling environment is not one that fosters a good childhood. Also, Christopher associated with Marni Warrington, the woman that kidnapped Sophia. He was at her townhouse the night Sophia was taken, and when Sophia was found she was behind a strong silencing charm. This shows neglect. Sophia needs her mother while she grows up. I promise I have her best interests in mind."

I took a deep breath and just focused on the Family Panel. I tried to pretend they were the only ones here, but it was really hard. I could feel Christopher's dark eyes bearing into the side of me, but I stayed strong.

"Mr. Bennot, would you like to state your case?" the panel asked.

"Thank you," Christopher said. I knew he would beat me in presentation, at least, because he was a much better public speaker. "I believe that Sophia should return to my custody. I am much better equipped to take care of a child. I am regularly employed, currently, with a steady income and good job security. I have a house where Sophia has plenty of room to grow up and enough money to take care of all her expenses. Anna is living in an apartment in the city while she is unemployed. Sophia's quality of life would simply be better at my residence. Secondly, I have reason to believe that Anna was also having a relationship outside our engagement with Harry Potter. Anna is unable to prove I was unfaithful to her; however I walked in on her and Mr. Potter kissing before Christmas. Also, I have a large family who is very supportive. Anna has only her father. Sophia should grow up surrounded by cousins. In my care, Sophia is attended to by a nanny at all times and will not have a need that goes unmet. Anna is too young to know what Sophia's best interests are. Anna would not be able to give Sophia the quality of life I can give her."

The Panel turned to me. "Would you like to refute anything?" the woman on the right side asked me.

"Yes," I said. I was angry after listening to Christopher talk and it gave me drive. "I think his faithfulness could be proved by bringing Connie to the stand. I am not unemployed. After my accident in December, the Ministry mandates I take at least twelve weeks off from work. It has been seven weeks. I have a letter here from Andrew Pierce that states my job will be open to me to return to when the twelve weeks are up. I also have my bank statement to show that I have enough money saved up to take care of Sophia for many more months. Also, I think the family support system should be evaluated upon the quality of the people involved, not merely on quantity. And I cannot be held responsible for any actions I may I have made concerning my faithfulness while I had amnesia. I was mentally unwell and had no memories. I was never unfaithful during our relationship."

It felt good to say all of that. It wasn't scripted but I knew it sounded better than my first speech. I handed the bailiff all of the papers I promised and I watched the Family Panel look at them. They nodded and moved on to Christopher.

"Well," he said, taking a deep breath. "I would also like to call Harry Potter to the stand to verify, then. And my family has been in Sophia's life since she was born. There is a difference between someone who has known her forever and someone she has just met."

It worried me that Harry was getting called in. I didn't know what was going to happen with Sophia because I didn't want her here.

"Is it possible to get Harry Potter here?" One of the Family Panel asked.

"It can be arranged," I told him.

He nodded. "Questioning of Connie Aubut and Harry Potter will take place after the character witnesses. The first character witness will be of Miss Greenwood's father, Mr. Rodney Greenwood."

Dad stood up and moved to the stand. My hand slipped into my pocket where I'd tucked a tissue earlier, just in case.

"It's going well," Hermione said, even if I wasn't so sure. I nodded at her; I didn't think she would lie to me. I looked up and waited for Dad to begin speaking.

Author's Note: Sorry, it's a bit of a short chapter. But it enabled me to get a chapter out for Valentine's Day! So all my readers who are single or don't celebrate get something to read tonight :) Just a reminder to PLEASE go vote in my poll on my website. It would mean a lot to me. Thanks to potter-reading-coastie for the beta. And here's the next installment of his short story. Please leave him a little feedback if you could, without him the last few chapters full of legal stuff would not be nearly as accurate or polished. Thanks everyone!

THE ADVENTURES OF EMILY AND THE COASTIE 2:

Dust fell from the rafters of the Dark Library.

Karmon sighed. "What could she have blown up now?"

"Well if I had to hazard a guess, I would say it was probably was the plastic penguin that I left in the yard. I filled it with Erumpent Fluid you know." The grin on Coastie's scarred face was ear-to-ear.

"You do realize you probably just killed half her followers don't you? Wait, of course you did, otherwise you wouldn't be grinning." The grin on the Coastie's face grew even bigger.

Walking outside, Karmon found the Dark Enchantress cackling and covered in blood. She was standing at the edge of a deep crater.

Slowly, she turned to Karmon. "Did you know?" was her only question.

"Unfortunately, no I did not. If I had, I would have come to see the show."

The answer seemed to satisfy the Dark Enchantress as she turned, once again, to survey the destruction. "Pity, the reward would have been great if you were, in fact, responsible. I was beginning to have hope for you."

Just then, the Coastie appeared with a smile upon his face. "I see you found my Plastic Penguin, my Lady."

She turned to him. "Yes, I find myself feeling much better. Of course, now I shall have to find new followers but that is of little matter."

"I shall see what I can do. Anyways, I have received the reports from your followers. Your Suggestion Collector is working splendidly."

Karmon found herself inwardly smacking her forehead. "It is called a Poll Coastie. I cannot believe we have sunk to Muggle means to gain the real opinions of the followers."

"SILENCE!" hissed the Dark Enchantress. "I will not tolerate any ideas of dissention from any of my followers including you Karmon. CRUCIO!"

Karmon screamed and fell to the ground. The Coastie shook his head, retreating back into the Dark Library. "Karmon will learn one of these days…."


	22. Chapter 22

The man in the middle of the panel stood up. "The Panel has decided that any questioning of the prospective grandparents is unnecessary. Therefore, they will only be allowed to make their prewritten statements." He sat down again as dad pulled out his statement. (

"Let me start off by saying that both Anna and Sophia mean the world to me," Dad said. "Growing up, Anna always meant the world to me and her mother. But when she was just nineteen, just a young woman, she met Christopher. Suddenly, my down to earth, hardworking daughter changed. She started wearing designer clothing and ostentatious diamond jewelry. She was not the same person. She was hard to pin down and didn't talk to me about things like she would before. Being with Christopher made her a shallow person. He was like a drug to her and she would do anything for his approval. He messed with her emotions. He is the reason she was in the accident in December, I truly believe he wouldn't have minded if she had died. Although I am thankful the accident gave her the ability to think for herself back, I don't want it to happen to Sophia. Sophia is my only grandchild. She is smart, funny, and beautiful. She means a lot to both Anna and I. If you grant Christopher control of her, Sophia will be messed up too. Anna is a natural at motherhood. She may not be able to go out and buy a toy store for Sophia, but Sophia will be well cared for with her. I do not want the same thing that happened to Anna to happen to Sophia. I don't want her to measure her worth by how much she weighs or how loved she is in how much jewelry she has. Thank you."

I watched the Panel as they looked at Dad. I thought his speech was really good. I knew that Hilary's speech would probably be more polished, but I couldn't imagine what she could say that was better than that. Dad came down and sat next to me again as Hilary went up. I reached over and laced my fingers into his. His hand was shaking and I squeezed it.

My eyes trailed up to Hilary. I just wanted this to be over while I still felt a little confidence in my defense.

"Sophia should return to the custody of my son," Hilary said. "Christopher has always treated Anna well. From the moment they met he doted on her. Her parents did not expose her to society in the ways that a woman who was to be married to Christopher should have been, but out of the goodness of his heart he helped her. When she got pregnant, and in my heart I believe she did that in an effort to try and trap Christopher, he took her in. He gave her a very comfortable life with her own suite in his house and a staff. She did not have to worry about a thing. She has never run a household on her own. She will not be able to care for a child. Sophia is a member of our family. As a Bennot, she will have security. She will have her own nanny. Things will be secure for her. She will grow up with a father that loves her. She will be surrounded by family that will more than make up the loss of a mother in her life. Anna is too young to take care of a child. She needs to stay with Christopher."

Her speech terrified me. The line that I kept hearing over and over in my head was_she will be surrounded by family that will more than make up the loss of a mother in her life_.

Her heels clicked their way across the floor and she sat down. I looked at my watch, it had actually been a lot longer than I thought it had.

"We will now dismiss for an hour long lunch period. Court will return at one in the afternoon with the questioning of Connie Aubut and Harry Potter." The man in the middle of the panel said.

I stood up and Hermione led us out first. "Let's find a phone booth and call Harry. We're going to have to figure out some way to make this work," she said.

"Why don't I go back to the flat?" Dad asked. "I can take care of Sophia and Harry will be able to come here."

I looked at him. Of course, I trusted him with Sophia. I just wasn't sure if I could give up his support. He nodded. "You'll be fine, Annie," he said. "Harry will be here to support you anyways."

We found a phone booth at the end of the street and I dialed my flat. He picked up on the third ring. "Hello?" he asked.

"Hi," I said.

"Anna!" he said, sounding surprised. "What's the matter? Why aren't you in court? Is it over already?"

"No," I told him. "Everything's fine. They just want to pull you in for questioning. They're talking to you and Connie because unfaithfulness in the relationship would negate each other's rights to full custody."

"Oh," he said nervously. "I'll be there as soon as I can get there. But... what about Sophia?"

"Dad will come back right now and watch her and you can come here. Is that okay?" I asked. I hope it was because I didn't have any other plans.

"Yeah, of course," he told me. "Anything I can bring you?"

"I'm all set," I told him. "Thank you, Harry."

"I'll see you soon," he promised.

I hung the phone up and went out to update Hermione and Dad. Dad gave me a hug and left us in search of an alley to apparate from.

"We should go get sandwiches or something," Hermione said. "This could go on for a few more hours and getting hungry isn't good. I know there's a deli about a block away, let's go while we wait for Harry."

I followed her. She was babbling on about the case, saying that she thought we were sure to win. I was grateful for her company but I wasn't sure how to feel. My confidence was flighty and I didn't want to get too attached.

We got sandwiches and though I wasn't hungry, it was good. About five minutes after we got there, Christopher showed up. I wanted to leave. I was afraid to be near him.

"Ignore him," Hermione instructed me, and I tried. But I felt like his whole family was taking turns glaring at me and it felt so awful. I got up to go to the bathroom before we walked back to meet Harry. On my way out of the bathroom, I practically ran into Christopher.

Having to look him in the eye from such a little distance made me so uncomfortable. "Excuse me," I said, looking down and trying to get around him.

"You're going to lose her," he said. "And she will never see you again."

I knew what he was doing. He was trying to scare me, to make me lose my confidence. "Leave me alone, Christopher," I told him.

"Where's your boyfriend?" he asked.

"He was watching Sophia," I told him. "But you know what, I don't need to tell you that. It's none of your business. I'm not going to let you get your hands on her and do what you did to me. I know you used me, and there's no chance I'm letting her grow up like that. You're a sick, messed up person, Christopher. And frankly, your relationship ethics disgust me. You're going to end up alone and I'll be laughing. Now excuse me."

I brushed past him and walked to the table where Hermione was. "Let's go," I told her.

"Everything all right?" she asked. She had been facing the other direction and didn't see me and Christopher.

"Yeah," I told her. 'Let's go find Harry."

I walked quickly to the street corner he was meeting us at. Once we were in sight of him, I ran to him. I was still a little shaken up from Christopher but being together with him again would make me feel better. He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed me tight."Anna," he said.

"Hi," I said.

"How's it going?" he asked, as he pulled away. He looked to Hermione for an update.

"Great," she told him. We all took off towards the ministry. Being alone with Hermione had been fine, but I felt a lot better with Harry holding my hand. "Anna's doing really well. I think it will be an easy win. They just want to talk to you and Connie Aubut about the fidelity of the relationship. Anna is fine, though. I've got a letter from Healer Davis at St. Mungo's that said she shouldn't be held responsible for actions like that while she had amnesia. And we don't have to worry about anything else, do we?"

"No, nothing to worry about." Harry said.

"Whereas Connie cannot deny that there was a definite affair," Hermione said.

"If she does, she's lying," I told them. I took a big breath of fresh air before we returned to the Ministry. We had about ten more minutes before everyone had to be back and court would restart. Hermione briefed Harry with what he had to say, thought it really was just detailing what had happened those few weeks I'd been in the hospital. It really wasn't hard.

"How's Sophia?" I asked.

"She's fine," he assured me. "She had just woken up from a nap but she seemed pretty happy to see her grandfather."

I tried to imagine them at my apartment right now. Dad was probably reading her a story or something fun. I was sure Dad was worrying, but Sophia was oblivious, of course. That was all that mattered to me.

Harry had his arm around me, and he was whispering reassuring things in my ear. It was really sweet and made me feel better.

Everyone came back into the court room and waited for it to start again. Hopefully this wouldn't take too long.

The Panel called up Harry first, and Christopher's lawyer was questioning him.

"Did you have a relationship with Anna prior to the breaking of her engagement to Christopher?" he asked.

"No," Harry said. "I mean, she admitted that she fancied me, and we kissed, but I told her we had to wait until she got her memories back to actually be together. Plus, she was in a relationship with Christopher and we both knew we couldn't be together until she got out of that."

"Can you give us a brief time line of your relationship?" his lawyer asked.

"We met in the hospital, a few days after her accident. We were both pretty lonely so we spent time playing cards. Well, eventually friendship developed into a desire for a relationship between both of us. Like I said, I told her nothing could happen until she got her memories back and she broke it off with Christopher. When she got her memories back, she went back to Christopher for a bit. She was really ill for about a week. Then she left him, and we got together a few days later. As you can see, there was no real overlap. When Anna had amnesia, she wasn't in the right state of mind. It would be unfair to hold her to her actions."

"But you had your memories still," the lawyer argued.

"And I told her we would wait," Harry answered. It was a little bit tense between them.

The lawyer dismissed him and I felt like it was success. Connie's questioning could not avoid the fact that there was a definite breach of fidelity in Christopher's and my relationship.

Connie walked up to the stand. I couldn't tell what was up with her, but it was something. She didn't look guilty. She almost looked pleased.

Hermione started to question her.

"You and Christopher were in a relationship before he was with Anna, weren't you?"

"Yes," Connie said. She didn't have a lot of emotion in her voice.

"How long were you with Christopher?"

"Three and a half years."

"Why did you break up?"

"We were trying to get pregnant and it wasn't working. He got frustrated and told me we couldn't be together if I couldn't have children. The next week he met Anna, a beautiful young girl who was nice and healthy. They were engaged and she was pregnant within eighteen months."

Hearing confirmation to things I'd only assumed did hurt. But I was glad to finally know.

"But what happened to your relationship?" Hermione asked. "How did you get involved with Christopher again?"

"We kept in touch, always. It didn't take long for him to come back to me. We were sleeping together sporadically, whenever Anna was away with work, mostly, and after she stopped working he would fabricate trips so that he could spend the night with me. Before Sophia was born, Christopher contacted me. I'd been working as a secretary in an office in the city. But he missed me, he said he didn't get to see me enough. He wanted me to come be the nanny for his and Anna's child. Anna wanted to get back to work soon after Sophia was born, and I jumped on it. It meant getting back into his house at a very personal level. Really, what could be better than having exclusive control on the one thing that drove us apart?"

I didn't even really know how to feel. There had been a snake in my house and I didn't even do anything about it. I was disappointed in myself.

"Describe your relationship with Christopher once you were back in his house," Hermione prompted.

I couldn't even read the emotions on Connie's face. She looked a little bit pleased with herself and I couldn't understand why. Christopher was not pleased with her, judging by the look on his face. I guessed he wouldn't talk to her for a few days. His family looked scandalized, but I was glad that the truth was finally coming out.

"Well, he was enamored with Anna at the time, so he spent most of his time with her. He needed to have the perfect family to be a good politician, he thought. There aren't that many childless politicians are there? And Anna stayed home healing for twelve weeks after Sophia was born. He mainly ignored me, except for a few times, while he had his perfect little life going on. However, once Anna went back to work, he wasn't so pleased. He didn't want her working, but she refused to stop. So I became his confidant. We were sleeping together on a regular basis by the time Sophia was four months old."

I took a deep breath. Harry looked at me to make sure I was okay. And I was, but it still hurt to hear confirmations of it.

"And this continued?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, yes," Connie said. "It continued throughout the next nine months until Anna left Christopher."

"Thank you," Hermione said. Connie left the stand and went to sit next to Christopher's sister Claire. They all turned their heads to her, shunning her. I was a little shocked that she had so openly let all that information out. She looked really happy with herself though. I bet she was leaving him too.

The Family Panel took a moment to deliberate, and then the man in the middle stood up to make his decision. I squeezed Harry's hand next to me. After that, I was pretty confident. My heart still built wildly in my chest and my hands felt clammy.

"In the case of Christopher Reid Bennot versus Anna Katherine Greenwood for the custody of Sophia Camille Marie Bennot, we have ruled that she shall remain in the full custody of her mother, Miss Anna Katherine Greenwood," he said. "Visitations with her father are allowed on major holidays, not exceeding more than six times per year."

I couldn't remember the last time I had been so relieved. I felt so great. Sure, she would have to go with him six times a year, but I could deal with that and there weren't any holidays for the next few months. I was just so happy and relieved as my eyes filled with tears.

I leaned into Harry's shoulder as the tears spilled out. It was the greatest form of relief. I would know she would be okay now. I wouldn't spend all my time worrying. She would grow up knowing she was loved and that was all I could ask.

I wiped my eyes and looked across to Christopher, who was already halfway out of the court room. Hermione led us out behind him. I couldn't wait to go home and tell Dad.

As soon as we were out of the courtroom, Christopher turned on Connie. "What do you think you were doing in there? Don't you realize what you just did? You're the reason that Sophia is staying with Anna!"

Connie didn't back down. Instead, she stared straight at him. "No, Christopher, I'm not," she said. "I just told the truth."

"I hope you don't think we can be in a relationship," he said.

"Oh, that's fine," Connie said. "And you're not dumping me. I'm leaving you. I know you were sleeping with Marni the night Sophia was kidnapped. Do you think I'm an idiot? Anyways,I've got a portkey to France in an hour, if you'll excuse me. Enjoy your loneliness."

She brushed past him, grinning. I couldn't help but be happy for her. I knew what it felt like.

"Connie!" he called. "You get back here!"

I looked at Harry and Hermione and couldn't help but dissolve into giggles. What a great end to the case. I grabbed Harry's hand and we all walked out.

"Thank you so much, Hermione." I told her. She walked a few paces ahead of us.

"Don't worry about it," she assured me. "It was a very easy case. They practically handed it to us. I'm just happy Sophia gets to stay with you."

I nodded. I was feeling really giddy too, but didn't indulge it much. I had to tell Dad. I bet he was at home, anxious.

Hermione left us, and Harry and I got in a cab.

"I'm so happy," I gushed to him as we started our way back to my apartment.

"You should be," he told me. He was smiling as well.

I thought Dad might cry when we told him that Sophia would get to stay with me. He was so incredibly happy that I did start crying. I just felt so_lucky._

I'd had a great lawyer. Dad and Harry had both given amazing witness to my life and had been really supportive. Everything had fallen into place and I could finally move on from my first, failed attempt at life.

Dad went home and I promised we would visit in a few days. Harry stayed for a little while, but eventually went back to his flat. He did have to work in the morning.

So I spent the night with Sophia, so happy I could. She was such a gift.

I didn't stay up late. It had been a long day and I was really drained. I went to bed, but didn't stay asleep. I heard the apartment door and started to panic. What if Christopher had been so angry that he had come to my apartment? I wondered how he got in through the wards.

I got up, drawing my wand and went into the kitchen. Harry stood there, carrying a bottle of champagne. "Anna?" he asked.

I lowered my wand, but I was still out of breath. "What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I decided to take tomorrow off and we're going to celebrate that you won," he told me. The gesture made me really happy, but I really did just want to go to bed. "You were asleep, weren't you?"

I nodded. "Sorry," I told him. "I... we... we can celebrate." I knew I didn't sound extremely convincing, but I was trying.

"No, its fine," he said. "Can I stay over though?"

I nodded "Please," I said, wrapping my arms around his waist. He tucked my head underneath his chin.

"Here, why don't we get you to bed?" he asked. I nodded, and followed him to my room. He let me curl up to him while I fell asleep even though I knew he probably wouldn't sleep for awhile. I felt guilty that he had come all the way here to celebrate with me and now all I wanted to do was sleep, so I resisted for a few minutes.

He picked up my journal off my bedside table. "Haven't seen this in awhile," he told me.

"You can read it if you want," I told him. There were some really private things in there, but I thought he could handle it. I trusted him. "I finished it today."

I'd been sad that I'd run out of pages, but at the same time it was a very fitting place to end it. I didn't think I would start another journal, at least not soon.

He flipped through it, and then went to the very last page.

_My name is Anna Greenwood._

_I am twenty three years old._

_The three most important people in my life are Dad, Sophia, and Harry._

_Dad and I had a rough patch for a few years, mostly due to me being incredibly stupid with Christopher. Things are better now, though, and I don't think we've ever been this close. He really cares for me and Sophia._

_Sophia is such a gift in my life. I'm not sure what I would have done if I had lost custody of her. She is beautiful and smart. I can't wait to watch her grow up. I feel so lucky for getting to have her._

_And then there's Harry. I'm not sure what I would do without him. He shows me what a real relationship feels like. I feel loved and appreciated and it's wonderful. He gets along well with Dad and Sophia. I couldn't ask for anything more. Even when things are cra_z_y, I know that I love him and he loves me. I may not know what the future has in store for us, but I know that with him, Sophia, and Dad by my side, everything's going to be all right._

Author's Note: And that, my lovely readers, is chapter the last. Not to fret, I've still got the epilogue and I'm hoping that will be posted sometime in the next few days (I'm thinking Tuesday?). A new story will be up before that, hopefully. I just wanted to say thank you to karmonblake and potter-reading-coastie for their help. And what that, potter-reading-coastie will take it away...

**EMILY AND THE COASTIE PART DEUCE-AND-A-HALF (PART Q)**

**Coastie suddenly got up and blasted through the fourth-wall.**

"**HEY! YOU! Yeah you! The readers! You know what? You guys don't get the third installment yet. Wanna know why? Because you guys haven't voted on the epilogue! Do you know how much it mean to the Dark Enchantress, to get the opinions of her followers? She really would like your opinions. So go vote! For me, and for her. OK, rant over. Carry on, as it were, and all that."**

**After a vastly overpowered "reparo" to the fourth-wall, the Coastie slinked away.**


	23. Chapter 23

I woke up from a deep, wonderful sleep. It was the last day of July, but not too hot. Just warm enough to have the windows open and the warm air drifted in. The breeze floated along my bare shoulders.

"Good morning," I said, opening my eyes and seeing Harry. He hadn't put on his glasses yet so he was squinting at me.

"Morning," he replied, his voice crackling.

"It's your birthday," I told him.

He just nodded and smiled at me. I leaned over to give him a kiss. "Yes, it is," he said, pulling me closer to him.

"Don't go to work," I begged him. I wanted to spend all day like this, in his arms.

"Don't want to," he murmured into my hair. My hair had grown out and was now past my shoulders. It was just as curly as ever, though.

"Then don't," I said. "That's easy." I grinned.

"Unfortunately, you know I've got a meeting I can't skip," he explained. "But I'll be home a little earlier tonight. Soph's going to your Dad's, right?"

I nodded and smiled mischievously at him. He got up and went to shower and I went down the hall to make him a hot breakfast. We'd been renting this flat together in the country for about six months now. I loved living with him. We'd practically lived together before here anyways, but now one of us didn't have to walk the two blocks in the snow or rain.

I peaked into Sophia's room and she was still asleep. She liked to sleep in so I let her be.

I mixed up pancake batter as the griddle warmed and the smell of breakfast filled the kitchen. I started the coffee and leaned against the counter. I could hear the water running in the bathroom as he showered.

It had been a crazy two and a half years. I had decided not to go back to being an Auror and focus on taking care of Sophia as she grew up. He had received a promotion and was working his way up to being in charge of the Magical Law Enforcement Department. Dad was still in Scotland and we saw him every Sunday for dinner. My life was pretty perfect. Sophia had only seen Christopher a handful of times since the court case.

The noise of an owl at the window caused me to turn around. I let it in and took the paper from its beak and paid it. I flipped the pancakes and opened the paper while I waited.

Nothing exciting was going on at the moment, and I just flipped through to the end.

I stopped when I recognized a face in a photograph. Connie Aubut-Martin was standing next to her husband and holding a new baby. From the picture, I wouldn't guess the baby was more than a month old.

The article was announcing her birth, Stella Louise Martin. Connie and Rene had been married about a year ago and I was surprised that she had been able to give birth. It had come out during the custody case that Connie and Christopher's relationship had been brought down because she hadn't been able to get pregnant.

Now it appeared that the problem wasn't Connie, but Christopher. Maybe Sophia had been a fluke. A bought of extraordinary luck that resulted in a beautiful child. I smiled at the thought that the only child Christopher would sire saw him about three times a year and had no idea who he was.

I would never get over the issues I had with Connie, but at the same time I was happy she had managed to escape from Christopher. She now had her life completely in order, something I hadn't quite managed.

I really wanted to marry Harry. I couldn't imagine myself growing old with anyone but him. I wanted to have his children and live in a house with our family. He was great to Sophia and got along well with Dad. He made me happy when I was sad and I could always count on him. He was my best friend.

We had talked about it a few times and he felt the same. So I had a hard time understanding why we weren't married yet. I wanted to wait until we were married to have anymore children and he was rapidly approaching thirty. But I didn't feel right pushing the issue, because I knew that was one of the big reasons his relationship with Ginny had crumbled. But I was reaching the end of my rope.

I heard the bathroom door open and he came out without his shirt on. Breakfast was nearly ready, and he came and wrapped his arms around me. "Hello," he said, grinning.

"When are we going to get married?" I asked him.

"Anna," he said, and backed away.

I looked at him. "I know," I said. "I do, but I just need a time frame. We've been together years. And I want to have more children before Sophia's too much older."

He sighed and stalked away, slamming the bedroom door behind him. This was not how I wanted his birthday to go and now I felt incredibly stupid for bringing it up. I wondered if Sophia had woken up from the loud noise of the door shutting.

"Harry," I pleaded. "Har_ry_, come back." 

The door opened and he came out with a black box in his hands. "I was going to wait until tonight," he said. "After we ate dinner but before we started on the bottle of wine Hermione gave us, while we sat outside near the fire. But apparently you can't wait any longer..."

I gasped. Now I felt so completely stupid. It sounded like he had it all planned out and I wished I'd never opened my big mouth. "I take it back," I said. "Obliviate me and do your plan."

He shook his head, and grabbed my hand. "No," he said, laughing and kneeling down. "Anna, I love you. Will you marry me?"

I just nodded and pulled him up. I was grinning even if I was angry at myself. He rocked me in a hug, left and right, before placing the ring on my finger. It was a simple square diamond in a silver band and it felt perfect on my hand.

"I'm sorry I screwed it up for you," I said, but I had tears in my eyes.

He laughed. "But it's just so very you," he told me, kissing me again. "I love you."

"I love you too," I told him.

A door opened down the hall, and Sophia poked her head out. "Mummy, is everything okay?"

Both Harry and I laughed. "Everything is _perfect_, Sophia," I said.

~.~

I found out that night that Harry had actually had the ring for a few months and was just waiting for the right time. I eventually got over the fact I ruined his proposal and appreciated the one we did have. Telling people had been fun, everyone had been completely happy for us. Dad was especially happy for us.

I wanted to get married as soon as possible, but we decided a winter wedding would give us enough time to plan it. It was going to be small, and we decided New Years Eve would be a good day. It might have been a little cliché to get married then, but our relationship had been such a new beginning that it was fitting.

The next thing we had to do was move out of our apartment and into a house. It was best to move in the spring, and we found a nice house. It had four bedrooms, which would hopefully be enough. One for us and one for Sophia, which left two to fill. We hadn't decided exactly how many children we would add to our family, but if it came down to it, they could share rooms.

We got pregnant the first month we tried, which made us extremely lucky and extremely happy. It had been nearly five years since I'd been pregnant at this point but I did like it much better this time around. Harry was so involved with the pregnancy and I knew he would be a fantastic father. He was great with Sophia, even if it took awhile to figure out exactly what role he would take in her life.

Our first baby was a boy, who we named James after Harry's father. I wanted names that meant something and also something that went well with Sophia's name too. James looked a lot like Harry, with his dark, crazy hair. As he grew up, it was very obvious he was attached to his Daddy.

We waited until James was two before trying for another one. The worst part of that pregnancy was having to take care of two children at the same time. Sophia was in school by then so it wasn't too bad but James was in full toddler mode and getting into everything. The next baby was a girl that we named Ellie after my mother. She didn't have my curly hair, but she did have the red hair. Sophia's red hair had turned more golden as she got older and that made me said. I hoped Ellie would get to keep it because it was just so beautiful. She was a lot like Mum had been, very calm and happy.

We were unsure where to go from there. We had three great children that we loved and the family felt good for now. We decided to reevaluate in a few years, but we were done having children for now.

Life was generally pretty good. There were road blocks, of course, like an injury that kept Harry out of work for a few months to heal. Ellie seemed to be a little bit behind with speaking, but we got her the help she needed. Dad's health began to dwindle, which scared me, but he persevered. He wanted to be there for his grandchildren as long as he could. I couldn't imagine life without Dad.

Once Sophia was well into her career at Hogwarts, we decided to have one more baby before we got too old. She would be a lot younger than Sophia, but Sophia was so great with her other siblings. Age wasn't a huge deal. She would only be about six years younger than Ellie.

Sophia and Christopher had never really established a bond. They met at Christmas and their birthdays, but he didn't mean anything to her. Harry was the one that taught her how to fly and took her to try out for Quidditch leagues.

But when Sophia was fifteen, I got a letter from Christopher. It wasn't December or April, when he wrote to me to set up a meeting, so I was confused as to why he was writing.

Inside the letter it said that he was really sick. His Healers weren't sure if he was going to make it to the end of the summer, and he wanted to see Sophia. It seemed legitimate to me so as soon as Sophia was home from school, I took her to see him.

I was very pregnant, which I knew he wouldn't like, but I didn't care. His political career had been pretty much destroyed by our custody battle, but he'd managed to keep his job for a few more years. When it had come time for the Minister to be elected, he hadn't gotten it and he had quietly stepped down a few months later.

"Ready to go?" I asked Sophia. It was a Saturday morning and I found her braiding Ellie's hair in her bedroom.

She looked most like me of my children. She had the curly blonde hair, though she had Christopher's eyes. She was into Quidditch and pretty successful on the Gryffindor team at school. She played another league during the summer. "Yes," she said. "Bye Ell."

She stopped and got a jacket out of her closet and I went downstairs to say goodbye to Harry. He and James were on the couch. His hairline had gone back and he definitely had a lot more gray hair, but he was still very attractive to me. "We'll be back later," I told him, giving him a kiss.

"Be careful," he said. It would be the first time I would be back in Christopher's house since I had left it.

"Always," I told him. I double checked that I had my wand and Sophia said goodbye.

The house looked the same, so large and so empty. There had been a few women in Christopher's lives, but they had never been able to give him children and therefore hadn't lasted long. I knocked on the door and the same butler that had been there when I was there. I never would have guessed that and couldn't even remember his name.

"Come in," he said. "Christopher is in his office."

I passed the rooms that used to be mine and Sophia's. They were empty now. The house just rang out as empty. I felt like the sound of every footstep echoed off every wall. I looked at Sophia and she looked a little creeped out. I reached over and held her hand.

I knocked on the door to Christopher's office and he called for us to come in. I opened the door and Sophia went in first. She went over and gave him a kiss before sitting down.

I got a good look at him and he did look sick. His hair had thinned out a lot, beyond normal aging. He'd lost weight. He had always been a very solid person but now I could see hollow cheeks. His clothing looked big on him.

"Hello Anna," he said.

"Hi, Christopher," I said.

"Pregnant again?" he asked, gesturing towards my stomach. I instinctively put my hand on it.

"It's a girl," I said. "Due next month."

"Congratulations," he told me. He took a sip of whatever was in the glass tumbler in his hand. He looked to Sophia. "You look so much like your mum."

She looked to me and pursed her lips. "Thank you," she said.

"Would you like me to leave you two alone for a bit?" I asked.

I could tell from Sophia's face she didn't want me to leave. Christopher just waved his hand dismissively. "It's fine," he said.

He seemed really subdued from the last time I'd seen him. I couldn't tell if it was due to his illness, medicine he was on or whatever he was drinking. I decided to stay put.

"Your mum's told you I'm ill?"Christopher asked Sophia.

She nodded. "I'm sorry," she said. "I... I'm honestly not sure what to say."

He shrugged. "And you are my only heir," he told her. "You get everything."

"You're not giving anything to the other people in your family?"

He shook his head. "They've got more than enough. My sisters' children don't need anymore money to toss around. But I have a condition for you," he said.

I was interested to see what his condition was. I couldn't even begin to imagine what hoops he would want her to jump through.

"Yes?" she asked, leaning forward.

"Spend it wisely," he said. "I'm not telling you how much money you'll get. But you'll have enough to not have to worry about things ever. Don't spend it all. Get a job. You've got enough money to not have to work for the money thing, so find something that you absolutely love. Put away money for any children you might have and make sure they're taken care of. Keep some money for a wedding because I won't be there for it. Live your life well, Sophia. I didn't. Don't get to be my age and have a huge empty house. It's not worth it."

I could feel myself tearing up, and blamed most of it on the hormones surging through my body.

"Okay," she said. "I can do that."

"And one more thing," he said. "I want to see you every week. I don't have very much time left and if there's one thing I regret the most it's not getting to know you. It won't be very many weeks if the Healers are right."

She nodded. She usually wasn't very emotional about the Christopher thing, but I could see her start to break down. She went over and gave him a hug. "I'm so sorry," she said.

"You haven't done a thing wrong," he said. "I guess it takes learning that you're dying to show you how many ways you've screwed up."

I wiped the tears out of my eyes before they saw that I was crying. I left so that they could have a few moments alone and about five minutes later she came out. Her eyes were red and puffy, so I gave her a hug.

She was sniffly the whole way home, and as soon as we walked in the doors she ran to get a hug from Harry. He looked at me, a little confused, and I just shook my head. When Sophia let go, she went off in search of one of her siblings.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

I nodded. "It's going to be a rough few weeks," I told him.

"What'd Christopher have to say?" he asked, wrapping an arm around me.

"He's leaving all his money to her," I said. "He told her that he screwed his whole life up and she's not allowed to do that."

"Won't be hard to do when you look at his life," he told me. He placed his hand on my stomach and the baby kicked at him.

"I'm so glad he made me drink the potion," I told him. "Because if not, I never would have been in the accident that led me to you."

He kissed me. "That was one of his better decisions." he said, and we both chuckled. "Love you."

"I love you too," I said, and grabbed his hand. Everything was going to be alright.

Author's Note: Oh, no, it's over! Heheh. Well, the first chapter of the new story is up. Thank you to the following loyal reviewers: you go girl, snakesandemeralds, xxalesanaxx, Acolyte of the Blood Moon, Who Are You What Do You Want, Lientjuhh, Tmctflyboy, EmberRee, and LivingInTheClouds. I'm sure I've left someone out and it's not on purpose I promise! Let me know and I'll edit. Also, a ginormous thank you to potter-reading-coastie. Without you this story would be vastly different and much worse. Thank you :) Please, everyone let me know what you think. All mistakes are mine because this chapter was not betaed. Also, please go check out my new story, called Taking Chances! The first chapter is now up. Thanks so much!


	24. Outtake 1

Sophia's Point of View:

I sat on my bed, curling my legs beneath me. It had been a busy day, and my brain was still processing everything. Christopher was ill. He was more than ill, actually, because saying someone is ill suggests they will most likely be better in a week if they stay in bed. He's dying is a better way to say it.

I'd never been particularly close to him. He was just sort of that odd guy that Mum didn't like who had the same eyes as me. When I was younger I generally liked him because I always came back from his house with my arms full of presents. I got wiser as I grew up and now didn't particularly feel one way or another. As far as I was concerned, he may have been my father but he wasn't my Dad.

I didn't call Harry 'Dad', but I knew that was who he was to me. He taught me to fly, the most valuable skill I had. My earliest memories included him, in the flat that we shared before there was James, Ellie and the new baby. I couldn't imagine losing him.

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to process. It was a lot of information at once. There were good things, like inheriting the fortune that he would leave behind. But that seemed selfish to me, considering it good. He would have to die for me to get it, but at the same time that did not stop me from thinking about how I would be returning to school in September with a new, top of the line broom. But he had seemed so very broken today.

I went to the window. It was kind of nice out today, overcast and windy but warm without humidity. I needed to go out to fly to clear my head. Mum and Harry were in the kitchen, talking, but I didn't want to talk. I was sure they would make me talk later but I didn't want to have to feel it any more. "I'm going flying," I told them.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Harry asked, looking concerned.

I shook my head, and turned to go outside. "Stay close," he called. I wouldn't go too far.

After getting my broom out of the shed, I went up. Going as high as I could, I closed my eyes and just hovered as I let the wind blow around me. I hadn't tied back my hair so it whipped about my face. I didn't mind because it was a distraction.

I spent about half an hour circling the house, doing a large loop. I felt a lot better when I was done. I'd flown my emotions out, but decided to work on some maneuvers while I was up there. I'd been working on my feint, and had it nearly perfected.

I dove downwards, enjoying the resistance, and pulled back just before I hit the ground. The success of it all was what I needed. I came slowly to the ground after that, having noticed Harry standing outside watching me. I didn't like to be watched because I was definitely showing off.

"Impressive," he told me.

"Thank you," I said.

"The scouts will definitely love that," he told me. "But let's go inside. It looks like there's a thunderstorm about to roll in."

I followed his eyes to the western sky and rain was definitely coming. I locked my broom in the shed and followed him inside.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No," I said. "Not yet."

He nodded. "Okay," he said.

Everyone mostly left me alone, even Mum. I knew she was trying hard too. I could tell by the way she looked at me when she thought I wasn't looking. But the new baby was rapidly approaching and that kept her pretty busy.

The first time I had to visit him, I was exceptionally nervous. I knew it would not be a light hearted visit like the ones when I was younger. Mum let me go by myself today, more trusting than before.

If it was possible, he looked worse than last week. He had lost more weight; even his suit couldn't hide that. He just looked so tired and so run down. Someone brought us sandwiches to eat for lunch.

"Tell me about yourself," he asked. "I mean, I know the basics, of course. But I don't think I know_you._"

"What do you want to know?" I asked. I just had no idea at all what he was looking for.

"You play Quidditch, don't you?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm the Seeker for Gryffindor," I told him. "Mum and Harry think I'll get scouted to play professionally."

"Do you want to?" he asked.

"Of course," I said. "It's every Quidditch player's dream to play pro. Or at least, for all my friends."

"I wish I'd gotten to see you play," he told me. "I was never much of a Quidditch person, to be honest."

"It's all right," I told him.

"Are you close with Harry?" he asked me.

I wasn't quite sure how to answer this question. I knew there was a lot that had happened between Harry, Mum, and Christopher, but no one ever wanted to tell me. I knew it would probably hurt him to hear that his only child was much closer to another man, but I wanted to be as truthful as possible.

"Yes," I told him.

He nodded. "Tell me about your friends, your classes. Just talk to me, Sophia..."

I did as he asked. I told him about my best friend, Jillian. I talked about James and Ellie, and how I loathed Charms. He seemed generally happy to hear me talk, and it did make me feel a little better about the situation.

When I was done talking, he told me about his life. About his sisters and parents and the vacations they would take when they were younger. He told me about how he met Mum and a little bit about their relationship. He told me he wrote out his whole side of the story and that I would get it when I turned seventeen.

I left with a better sense of identity. I was wary of it all to begin with, but Christopher had told me a lot about where I came from. I decided I did not want to be anything like the members of his family. I learned a bit about Mum too, if Christopher could be trusted at all.

The whole situation bothered me because there were too many unknown variables. The Healers didn't want to give him an exact time frame for how long he had, but he was going downhill fast.

Mum woke me up in the middle of the night and I knew that something was wrong. I was supposed to visit Christopher in the morning, but she told me it couldn't wait.

"His Healer just Floo called, love, and I'm not sure he'll still be around for your lunch tomorrow. I'd just rather you'd be there, alright?" she asked.

I nodded and threw on my bathrobe. Mum was still pregnant and very large, so I knew she didn't want to be traveling around England. "You don't have to come with me," I told her.

She pursed her lips and examined my face. "I will," she said. "If you need me, you're not inconveniencing me."

"I think I'm all right," I told her. "I'll call you if I do, yeah?"

She nodded and kissed my cheek. "You're so strong, Sophia," she told me. "Please don't hesitate to call me. It's not going to be pretty."

"I know," I told her.

She let me go through the Floo and I found my way. The house was dark as ever, which I was convinced led to such a dreary air. A man I did not recognize must have been his Healer.

"You're his daughter?" he asked.

I just nodded. A headache focused itself behind my eyes. My body sought revenge for getting out of my warm bed.

"You may want to say your goodbyes, I'm terribly sorry," he said.

I walked past him and into the bedroom. He lay in bed, looking worse, if it was possible. I could tell that whatever illness plagued his body was not kind. It had taken over.

"Sophia," he croaked. I dragged a chair to his bedside and tried to stay strong. It would not take very much for me to crumble.

"Hi, I'm here," I said. I reached out for his hand and held it.

"You look so much like your mother," he said, not even opening his eyes. "You_are_so much like your mother. It's good. She was the better one."

"I've got your eyes," I reminded him. I tried to still my shaky hands so he wouldn't know how nervous I really was.

He just nodded and I could see how much energy that took as he sunk into his pillows. "My biggest mistake ever was losing her," he told me. A few tears leaked out of his eyes and it scared me terribly. This was a man who was always _so_strong and_so_vibrant in life reduced to a pile of skin, bones, and tears.

I moved from the chair to the bed, and tried to console him. Why wasn't his family there? Would they just let him die like this, alone? They had no idea I was here, so I couldn't be keeping them away.

"It's all right," I told him. I wanted to address him more directly, but_Christopher_seemed so impersonal. I had never called anyone Dad before, but I figured it was his last hour, probably, and he had tried at the end. "D-dad."

He smiled as best he could. "Thank you, Sophia..." he muttered. "My beautiful Sophia..."

It was a long few hours, and the Healer gave him some medicine that would relieve as much of his pain as was possible. He drifted away just before sunrise, and I was almost happy he would find peace. It was hard to leave the house, but I had to get out.

I just wanted to be home. I needed a hug from Mum and maybe I was ready to talk about it. When I came through the Floo, I found Mum asleep in a chair by the fireplace. She had a blanket thrown over her.

Harry came out of the kitchen with a finger over his lips to shush me. I followed him quietly into the kitchen and he shut the door behind us.

"He's gone," I told him, sitting down at the table.

"I'm so sorry, Sophia," he said. He put a cup of tea down in front of me on the table. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"It's just... a lot," I tried to explain. "Like, we've never been close and then when he's dying he wants to have this relationship. He got to die and move on from it, but I'm going to have a little bit of guilt following me forever. Every time I spend that money, I'll have to think about him. It's not my fault I didn't know him, I was the child in this situation. But I still get that guilt, and it's not fair!" I dissolved my hard exterior and broke down. It was my turn to fall apart.

He sat next to me and hugged me. "You can't hold guilt over this," he said. "Don't. Your father had some problems and it isn't your fault. He didn't want to hurt you by his actions at the end."

I heard Mum get up out of the chair in the other room and felt terrible I'd woken her. Everything had fallen apart.

She came in immediately tried to get as close to me as possible. I was surrounded by love, and I tried to absorb it.

I tried to take the words Harry had said and believe them. I had done the best I could. I had done everything Christopher had asked at the end.

And that was all I could do.

Author's Note: Sorry, everyone, looks like the story wasn't quite over! I was bit by a plot bunny and had to write this. I'm pretty sure that it's over for real now, but Sophia wanted her story told and who was I to deny it? Thank you to my beta, potter-reading-coastie. Let me know what you think!


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